India’s Ashmita Chaliha produced a gritty show to secure her maiden BWF World Tour title with a fighting win over fourth seed Han Qian Xi of China in the women’s singles final of the here on Sunday.
Chaliha, the 26-year-old from Assam, who had suffered a career-threatening knee injury two years ago in Korea, overcame a slow start and a testing decider to complete a memorable victory, recovering from the loss of the opening game to stun World No. 35 Han 14-21, 21-14, 21-14 in the summit clash that lasted 53 minutes. “I feel really great and unbelievable. But then I am trying to digest it. Now, I am hungry for more,” said Ashmita, who trains under Park Tae-Sang at the National Centre of Excellence in Guwahati.
“In the first game, it was a little bit tricky because of the drift conditions, so I was not able to manage it. But in the second, the other side was more comfortable and there was less drift, so I was able to control it. And in the third, after 11 points, I changed again, so I was on the good side. I’m glad that I could pull off.”
Ashmita’s win marks back-to-back BWF World Tour finals for Indians, with having won the Taipei Open last Sunday.
Park, who has now seen two of his wards win Super 300 titles in successive weeks, believes Ashmita always had the tools to succeed but needed to become more consistent in her approach. “Before the injury, Ashmita was already a good player and a very good talent. She has a good smash and nice movement, but unfortunately, at the wrong time, she had to take a break because of the injury,” the South Korean said.
“When she joined me, I thought, ‘Oh, she is a good player.’ But tactically and strategically, and also a little bit mentally, she had some problems.”
The World No. 50 Ashmita had to undergo surgery and an extensive rehabilitation period after suffering a medial meniscus tear in her right knee during the Korea Open in 2024. She returned in February next year and played 14 events.
India’s BWF World Tour women’s singles winners
. PV Sindhu 6 titles
. Saina Nehwal 1 title
. Devika Sihag 1 title
. Tanvi Sharma 1 title
. Ashmita Chaliha 1 title