Leading Odisha shuttlers Rutaparna Panda and her younger sister Swetaparna Panda won the bronze medal in womens doubles event of the 6th Lagos International Badminton Classics, which concluded at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos, Nigeria today.

The Odisha siblings settled for the bronze after losing their semifinal match against American combination of Paula Lynn Cao Hok and Lauren Lam 15-21, 7-21. Rutaparna and Swetaparna reached the semifinals with two wins.

They defeated Nigerian pair of Zainab Damilola Alabi and Sofiat Arinola Obanishola 21-10, 21-12 in pre-quarterfinals and Peru duo of Ines Lucia Castillo Salazar and Paula La Torre Regal 17-21, 21-11, 21-7 in the quarterfinals.

Lagos International was an International Challenge event, organized by the Badminton Federation of Nigeria with sanctions from the Badminton Confederation of Africa and the Badminton World Federation (BWF).

Indian shuttlers bagged both the mens and womens doubles gold medals in the four-day tournament. PS Ravikrishna and Sankar Prasad Udayakumar won the mens doubles title, while Simran Singhi and Ritika Thakar emerged womens doubles champions.

But the title triumph of Simran and Ritika lost its sheen as they clinched it by demanding and getting a walk-over in the final against US opponents Paula Lynn Cao Hok and Lauren Lam, who failed to reach the venue within the stipulated time as they were stranded in the traffic, caused by an accident.

A tanker laden with gas was involved in an accident at the foot of the Stadium Bridge. The tanker driver ran into the barrier placed at the foot of the bridge, which led to leakage of gas from the tanker. Emergency workers had to cordon off the area to offload the tanker.

The two USA players who were scheduled to play against their Indian counterparts in the womens doubles final were caught in the gridlock caused by the incident. In the ensuing drama, the final match was declared a walkover after 10 minutes.

The President of Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN), Francis Orbih, pleaded with the officials to suspend the match to allow the USA duo to arrive at the venue. The Indians, however, rejected the overtures insisting on following the rules of the game which stipulates a walkover after 10 minutes lateness.

“Most of our guests were also caught up in the traffic that lasted about three hours and the pair of the USA team due to play in the Women’s Double was also caught up in the gridlock.

“By the time they got here, they had missed the time as the rule says after 10 minutes, there should be a walkover. We approached the referee and told him that the situation was a force majeure, which is no one’s fault. We asked for the match to be rescheduled to allow the girls play, but the Indian team insisted that there must be a walkover,” he said.
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PHOTO: Odisha sisters Rutaparna and Swetaparna pose with their bronze medal at the Lagos International Badminton Classics in Nigeria on 2 September 2023.