Chirag Sen progressed to the men's singles summit clash after staving off a spirited challenge from second-seeded Kiran George in the semifinal of the 85th Senior National Badminton Championships in Guwahati on Saturday. (Badminton News)
Chirag, who is the elder brother of Commonwealth Games gold medallist Lakshya Sen, secured a 21-18, 21-18 victory to set up a final clash with fourth-seeded Tharun M, who defeated Bharat Raghav 21-11, 16-21, 21-19 in a closely contested match.
In women's singles category, both the semi-finals witnessed upsets at the R. G. Baruah Sports Complex.
While Tanvi Sharma overcame eighth-seeded Isharani Baruah 21-15, 20-22, 21-14, Haryana's Anmol Kharb stunned second-seeded local favourite Ashmita Chaliha 21-17, 21-19.
Odisha Masters champion Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto cruised into the mixed doubles final with a comfortable 21-11, 21-13 victory over Deep Rambhiya and Akshaya Warang.
They will face the pair of Nitin Kumar and Navdha Manglam, who clinched a hard-fought victory over H.V. Nithin and Maneesha K with a score of 10-21, 21-18, 21-19.
In women's doubles, Maharashtrian pair of Ritika Thaker and Simran Singhi defeated P. Amrutha and Pranjal Prabhu Chimulkar 21-11, 21-11 to secure a spot in the final.
The duo will face the third-seeded pair of Priya Devi Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra, who registered a 21-13, 21-11 win over Mrunmayee Deshpande and Prerana Alvekar.
The prestigious tournament is being organized by the Badminton Association of India (BAI) in Assam after four years.
