Aditi Bhatt wins women’s singles at Slovak Open Future Series Badminton tournament

Teenage Indian shuttler Aditi Bhatt won the women’s singles title at the Slovak Open 2022 badminton tournament in Trencin, Slovakia, on Saturday. The four-day Future Series tournament was organised by the Slovak Badminton Federation under the auspices of the Badminton World Federation.

Aditi Bhatt rallied to stun third seed Wen Chi Hsu of Chinese Taipei 19-21, 21-10, 25-23 in the women’s singles final. The unseeded Indian had to dig deep to get the better of her higher-ranked opponent in a marathon match that lasted 52 minutes.

The World No. 315 lost the first game narrowly, but bounced back gallantly to pocket the next game quite easily. The third and deciding game was an exciting affair, with both the shuttlers fighting hard for each and every point.

Chi Hsu, ranked world No. 78, looked like emerging victorious, but Bhatt raised her level of play at the crucial juncture.

The 19-year-old, who was the women’s singles runner-up last year at the 46th Hungarian International Championships, displayed wonderful temperament to clinch the extended deciding game 25-23.

Maiden senior international title for Aditi Bhatt

Aditi Bhatt registered arguably the biggest victory of her career as she grabbed her maiden senior international crown.

After shocking sixth seed Katerina Tomalova of the Czech Republic 21-9, 21-8 in the second round, she won her maiden senior title. This triumph should do a world of good to her confidence.

The Delhi girl won two Under-19 girls doubles titles in 2019. Along with Tanisha Crasto, the duo triumphed at the Dubai Junior International Series and the Bulgarian International Championships. Both Bhatt and Crasto were part of the senior Indian team at the Uber Cup last year.

However, Bhatt has now shifted completely to singles, while her former U-19 girls’ doubles partner has established herself in women’s doubles.

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Sweet revenge for Aditi Bhatt against Chinese Taipei’s Wen Chi Hsu

The win over Wen Chi Hsu in the final on Saturday turned out to be sweet revenge for Aditi Bhatt.

At the 46th Hungarian International Championships last year, Bhatt had lost to the Chinese Taipei girl 21-16, 11-21, 7-21 in the final. The 24-year-old Wen had a splendid year in 2021, winning four titles and finishing as a finalist at the Belgian International. Wen won the Welsh International, Scottish Open, Irish Open and Hungarian International tournaments.

Barring Bhatt, other Indian shuttlers did not impress much at the Slovak Open. Yeung Sum Yee of Hong Kong China edged out India’s Srivedya Gurazada 21-15, 18-21, 21-14 in the women’s singles second round.

Aditi Bhatt has been training at the Bengaluru-based Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy (PPBA) for the last three years.

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Bhatt’s road to victory

First round: Bhatt gets a walkover against Riko Gunji (Japan).

Second round: Bhatt beats 6-Katerina Tomalova (Czech Republic) 21-9, 21-8 (25 minutes).

Quarter-final: Bhatt beats Joanna Podedworny (Poland) 21-14, 21-14 (29 minutes).

Semi-final: Bhatt beats Milena Schnider (Switzerland) 21-8, 21-13 (27 minutes).

Final: Bhatt beats 3-Wen Chi Hsu (Chinese Taipei) 19-21, 21-10, 25-23 (52 minutes).