Sathish Karunakaran and the doubles pair of Sai Pratheek K and Ruban Kumar emerged victorious in the India International Challenge Badminton 2026 in Bengaluru on Sunday.
However, India shuttlers lost three more finals with Dianka Waldia, Ashwini Bhat K and Shikha Gautam, and C Lalramsanga and Angel Punera going down in the finals.
Sathish won the men’s singles title after defeating compatriot Tankara Gnana Dattu Talasila 21-9, 23-21 in an all-Indian final.
Sathish began his men’s singles campaign with straight-game wins over Sarvesh Mahesh Yadav and second seed Ginpaul Sonna in the first two rounds. He then rallied from behind to beat eighth seed Bharat Raghav in the pre-quarterfinals before overcoming Lokesh Reddy Kalagotla to book his place in the semis.
Sathish entered the final after edging third seed Mithun Manjunath 21-17, 20-22, 22-20 in his last-four match. This was Sathish’s second BWF International Challenge title of the year, having also won the Slovenia Open earlier. He has also won two BWF Super 100 badminton titles in Odisha and Guwahati in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
Fifth seeds Sai Pratheek K and Ruban Kumar Rethinasabapathi registered a 21-15, 21-19 win against Malaysia’s Lau Yi Sheng and Lee Yi Bo in 31 minutes to win the men’s doubles title.
On the other hand, there was a lot of disappointment for the Indian contingent as they lost three finals. Dianka Waldia lost 11-21, 10-21 against fourth seed Yataweemin Ketklieng of Thailand in the women’s singles final.
In women’s doubles, Ashwini Bhat K and Shikha Gautam, seeded third, went down fighting 13-21, 21-13, 19-21 to Japanese fifth seeds Mei Sudo and Mai Tanabe.
India’s C Lalramsanga and Angel Punera also lost 12-21, 14-21 to Rodion Alimov and Alina Davletova of Russia in the mixed doubles final.
Results: Men’s singles: Sathish Karunakaran (India) beat Tankara Gnana Dattu Talasila (India) 21-9, 23-21.
Men’s doubles: Sai Pratheek K / Ruban Kumar Rethinasabapathi (India) beat win Lau Yi Sheng / Lee Yi Bo (Malaysia) 21-15, 21-19.
Women’s singles: Yataweemin Ketklieng (Thailand) beat Dianka Waldia (India) 21-11, 21-10.
Women’s doubles: Mei Sudo / Mai Tanabe (Japan) beat Ashwini Bhat K / Shikha Gautam (India) 21-13, 13-21, 21-19.
Mixed doubles: Rodion Alimov / Alina Davletova (Russia) beat C Lalramsanga / Angel Punera 21-12, 21-14.
