Mumbai qualifiers of Red Bull Shuttle Up to be held on 23rd November

Mumbai, November 21, 2019: The second edition Red Bull Shuttle Up- India’s first ever exclusive Women’s Doubles tournament, will be back in action with the upcoming qualifiers round on 23rd November in Mumbai.

The qualifiers will be held at Khar Gymkhana. The tournament aims to give wings to the next generation of Women’s Doubles badminton players while encouraging them to take up the sport professionally.

More than 32 teams have already registered for the Mumbai qualifiers which will be played in a knock-out format. Last year, Ritika Thaker and Simran Singh emerged as winners of the Mumbai qualifier and then ended up winning the national championship and earned the opportunity to play against Ashwini Ponnappa & Sikki Reddy

Qualifiers have already been held across Delhi, Hyderabad, Guwahati, Chandigarh and Bangalore. The winning pair from each qualifier will be flown down to Hyderabad for the National Finals on 8th December 2019. The national finals winners will get a chance to play against Ashwini Ponnappa- one of India’s best doubles badminton players of all time – and a partner of her choosing.

With the growing popularity of the sport be it viewership (5th most viewed) or participation (2nd most played), the tournament aims to further boost and improve participation and popularity amongst aspiring women players.

India’s ace women doubles shuttler and Red Bull athlete Ashwini Ponnappa said, “It has been my ambition to promote badminton in India, especially for women. It’s great to be associated with brands like Red Bull that create such platforms and that give wings to the dreams of aspiring talent. It’s been a great journey with Red Bull Shuttle Up and I only see it growing in the years to come. I would like to wish all the participants the very best of luck.”

Winners of the other city qualifiers:

1. Delhi qualifiers Results:

Winners: Kavya Gandhi and Rageshri Garg

Runners up: Anahita and Ojashwini

1. Hyderabad qualifiers:

Winners: Poorvi Singh and Vanshika Kapila

Runners up: Likhita Gouti and Maitreyi

1. Guwahati qualifiers:

Winners: Ernacles Syiem and Mamta Singh

Runners up: Niyanta Das and Nandini Goswami

1. Chandigarh qualifiers:

Winners: Daman Raj Kumar and Akanshi Baliyan

Runners up: Ishita and Garima

1. Bangalore Winners:

Winners: Nikhita Ramakrishna and Kumari Jagrity Pandey

Runners- Up: Poojitga and Niharika Sridhar

Open exclusively for women above the age of 16, all matches are played in the knock out format. All pairs will play of 3 sets with 11 points in the knockout phase and 21 points in the qualifiers finals. Each pair, with prior notification to the referee, can call for a super point once in a set. By calling for a super point, the pair will get 2 points if they win that particular point. There will be no deduction of points if the pair loses that point. Players must be prepared to play 5/6 matches in a day, during the event. The winning pairs of each qualifier will make it through to the National Finals on 8th December 2019 in Hyderabad.

The first edition of Red Bull Shuttle Up was an overwhelming success as India’s U19 ranked number 1 women’s doubles pair Ritika Thaker and Simran Singhi from Mumbai claimed the championship title after a charged 11-1; 11-6 final match win over opponents Daman Rajkumar and Muskan Taya from Delhi. The duo also got a chance to play against one of India’s best doubles players Ashwini Ponnappa and Sikki Reddy at Phoenix Marketcity Kurla, Mumbai.