Indian duo Vijay Lancy and KA Aneesh win gold medal at BWF World Senior Badminton Championships

Indian duo Vijay Lancy Mascarenhas and KA Aneesh won gold medals at the El Pozo BWF World Senior Badminton Championships 2021 in Huelva, Spain.

The week-long biennial tournament was held from November 28 to December 4 under the auspices of the Badminton World Federation.

Vijay Lancy and KA Aneesh defeated fifth seed Johnny Hast Hansen of Denmark and Scotland's Mark Mackay 21-18, 21-16. The third-seeded Indian pair needed exactly half an hour to clinch the gold medal in the men’s doubles 45 plus category.

Vijay and Aneesh faced stiff competition from their opponents in the first game but took control of the proceedings as the match progressed.

Vijay and Aneesh emerged as national champions in Goa during the Masters National Championships a couple of months ago.

KA Aneesh (L) and Vijay Lancy Mascarenhas beat Johnny Hast Hansen (Denmark) and Mark Mackay (Scotland) 21-18, 21-16 in the men's doubles 45 plus final

Vijay and Aneesh stun top seed Mikael Nilsson-Ulf Svenson of Sweden in semis

Vijay and Aneesh faced their stiffest competition in the semifinals when they ran into top seeds Mikael Nilsson and Ulf Svenson of Sweden. The Indian combination overcame a stiff challenge from the Swedish pair 22-20, 21-13 in 33 minutes.

Vijay and Aneesh won their extended first game 22-20 to gain the upperhand in the contest. Once they took a game lead, Vijay and Aneesh dominated the second game to post the most important win of the championships.

Padmanabha Raghavan (L) and Varun Sharma won silver medal in the men's 35 plus doubles

Padmanabha Raghavan-Varun Sharma wins silver in men’s doubles 35 plus

Padmanabha Raghavan and Varun Sharma bagged silver medals in the men’s doubles 35 plus category. The Indian duo of Raghavan and Sharma lost 12-21, 12-21 against Boonsak Ponsana and Jakrapan Thanathiratham of Thailand in 25 minutes.

In a summit clash between the two unseeded pairs, the Thai duo gelled well into emerging champions and shattered the hopes of Raghavan and Sharma.

In the men’s doubles 40 plus category, the Indian duo had to be satisfied with their runners-up position. Top seeds Tommy Sorensen and Jesper Thomsen of Denmark overcame late challenges from JBS Vidyadhar and Ajit B Umrani 21-13, 21-18 in a 40-minute final.

In another defeat in the final for the Indian players, second seeds Gry Uhrenholt Hermansen and Helle Kampegaard of Denmark thumped Nupura Gadgil and Pooja Patil 21-14, 21-12. The women's final doubles 35 plus group lasted 28 minutes.

Indian Results (Finals)

Men’s doubles 45 plus

3-KA Aneesh-Vijay Lancy Mascarenhas bt 5-Johnny Hast Hansen (Denmark)-Scotland Mark Mackay (Scotland) 21-18, 21-16 (30 minutes)

Men’s doubles 35 plus

Boonsak Ponsana-Jakrapan Thanathiratham (Thailand) bt Padmanabha Raghavan-Varun Sharma 21-12, 21-12 (25 minutes)

Men’s doubles 40 plus

1-Tommy Sorensen-Jesper Thomsen (Denmark) bt JBS Vidyadhar-Ajit B Umrani 21-13, 21-18 (40 minutes)

Women’s doubles 35 plus

2-Gry Uhrenholt Hermansen-Helle Kampegaard (Denmark) bt Nupura Gadgil-Pooja Patil 21-14, 21-12 (28 minutes)

(Semifinals)

Men’s doubles 45 plus

3-KA Aneesh-Vijay Lancy Mascarenhas bt 1-Mikael Nilsson-Ulf Svenson (Sweden) 22-20, 21-13 (33 minutes)

Men’s singles 35 plus

5-Anthony Nelson (France) bt 3-Manish Rawat 21-17, 21-17 (25 minutes)

Men’s singles 50 plus

1-Chang-Jun Wu (Chinese Taipei) bt 5-Vijay Sharma 21-19, 21-4 (21 minutes)

Men’s doubles 35 plus

Padmanabha Raghavan-Varun Sharma bt 5-Chao Chun Ken-Tsai Ming Hsin (Chinese Taipei) 21-19, 21-11 (26 minutes)

Men’s doubles 40 plus

JBS Vidyadhar-Ajit B Umrani bt Abhinand K Shetty-Sunil Gladson Varadaraj 21-10, 21-14 (26 minutes)

Men’s doubles 40 plus

1-Tommy Sorensen-Jesper Thomsen (Denmark) bt 3-Samir Abbasi-Upendra Fadnis 21-7, 21-9 (23 minutes)

Women’s doubles 35 plus

Nupura Gadgil-Pooja Patil bt 1-Helene Dijoux-Audrey Petit (France) 21-18, 3-0 (Retired) (28 minutes)

2-Gry Uhrenholt Hermansen-Helle Kampegaard (Denmark) bt 3-Sangeetha Mari-Sandhya Melasheemi 21-14, 22-20 (33 minutes)

Mixed Doubles 35 Plus

5-Anthony Nelson-Maily Turlan (France) bt 5-Abhinand K Shetty-Sangeetha Mari 21-23, 21-18, 21-14 (39 minutes)

Mixed Doubles 55 Plus

5-Magnus Nytell (Sweden)-Sandra Kroon (Netherlands) bt 1-Prabhu Naik Naidu Kona-Suzanne Venglet 21-16, 23-21 (29 minutes).