Odisha shuttlers Sruti Swain and Harshitaa Rout won the womens doubles bronze medal at the Kazakhstan International Challenge, held at Energia Sports Centre in Uralsk from 2 to 6 April 2024. The Odisha duo settled for their maiden international medal (bronze) after losing to Ukrainian pair of Polina Buhrova and Yevheniia Kantemyr 13-21, 13-21 in the semifinals.

Students of KIIT Deemed to be University, Sruti and Harshitaa won two matches to enter the semifinals. They started their campaign with 21-10, 21-10 win over Kazakhstan combination of Nargiza Rakhmetullayeva and Aisha Zhumabek and then outplayed Indian opponents Nikki Papria and Nishu Papria 21-11, 21-10 in the quarterfinals.

Sruti also participated in the mixed doubles event with Ayush Raj Gupta as her partner. They won their first-round match against Kazakh pair of Otabek Kamilov and Amaliya Ormanova 21-11, 21-11 before losing to another Kazakh combination of Nargiza Rakhmetullayeva and Aisha Zhumabek 10-21, 10-21 in the pre-quarterfinals.

Harshita too participated in womens singles event where she lost her first-round match against Indian star Anupama Upadhyaya 13-21, 13-21. Sruti and Harshita are pursuing their graduation in arts (Sociology) and commerce respectively on sports quota.
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PHOTO: Odisha shuttlers Harshitaa Rout (Left) and Sruti Swain pose with their trophies at the Kazakhstan International Challenge in Uralsk on 6 April 2024.