Unnati Hooda wins Odisha Masters; Kiran George takes men's title

Isharani Baruah’s dream run eventually came to an end as she went down to top seed Unnati Hooda in the women’s singles final of Odisha Masters in Cuttack on Sunday.

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Hooda, who dropped only one game in the entire tournament during her semifinal against Tasnim Mir, grabbed a 21-17, 21-10 win against Baruah in just over half an hour.




As for the men’s singles title, No. 2 seed Kiran George won it after he beat Indonesia’s Muhamad Yusuf 21-14, 13-21, 21-16 in a hard-fought battle.

Earlier, Hooda dominated the match throughout to earn her only title this year at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. It was also her third triumph in a BWF Super 100 tournament — which also includes the 2022 Odisha Masters.

Coming into the tournament after making it to the semifinals of Syed Modi International, Hooda had no trouble in the final as Baruah kept making errors after the first game was locked at 15-15. As a result, it soon became 20-15 for Hooda and she took the game with ease.


In the second game, Baruah, whose both knees were heavily strapped, failed to keep up with Hooda as she stayed calm and made immaculate placements across the court. Irrespective of that Baruah’s fighting spirit helped her to make it 9-11 at one stage. But from then onwards, Hooda completely took control of the game and won it 21-10.

This has been an incredible year for Hooda as she also made it to the semifinals of Taipei Open and Hylo Open. She also made a huge breakthrough when she beat PV Sindhu in the pre-quarterfinals of China Open and became the youngest Indian woman to reach a Super 1000 quarterfinal.

Moreover, Hooda also played a huge role in helping India win a historic bronze in BWF World Junior Mixed Team Championships in Guwahati.

Meanwhile, the men’s singles final saw a tight contest where George took the first game with ease after winning a series of points from 13-12 onwards. Yusuf did fight back to take the second game, but George upped the ante in the third to grab the win in just over an hour.

As for the doubles events, Indonesian pair Marwan Faza and Aisyah Pranata won the mixed doubles title. They beat compatriots Dejan Ferdinansyah and Bernadine Wardana 21-15, 21-10.

In women’s doubles, Bulgarian top seeds Gabriela and Stefani Stoeva overcame Malaysia’s Ong Xin Yee and Carmen Ting 21-19, 21-14. The men’s doubles crown went to Indonesia’s Ali Faathir Rayhan and Devin Artha Wahyudi, who rallied past Malaysian duo Khang Khai Xing and Aaron Tai 15-21, 21-12, 21-16.


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