GUWAHATI, March 13 - The Assam Tribune clinched the men�s badminton title in the 11th Topcem ASJA Inter Media Sports Festival.
In the final played at the Kanaklata Indoor Stadium in the RG Baruah Sports Complex here today, The Assam Tribune defeated The Telegraph 2-1. In the first singles, Nayan Kachari of The Telegraph defeated Sivasish Thakur of The Assam Tribune 21-18. But Rituraj Borthakur drew parity for The Assam Tribune by winning the second singles 21-18 against Mehdi Hussain. In the deciding doubles, the duo of Sivasish and Rituraj earned a hard-fought 26-24 victory against Nayan and Mehdi.
In the women�s singles title clash, Rimple Rajkumari of Doordarshan defeated her team-mate Aruna Chanu 11-3, 11-7.
In the men�s singles final, Sivasish will square off against Nayan Kachari. In the semifinals, Nayan beat Rituraj while Sivasish got the better of Basanta Kumar Meitei of Doordarshan.
The seven-a-side Harendra Nath Baruah Memorial Football Tournament of the festival will kick start at the Nehru Stadium tomorrow.
Earlier, the tournament was inaugurated by Assam Badminton Association secretary Omar Rashid and senior Guwahati DDK official Dhrubajyoti Adhikari.
