Jessica Gurung of Jhapa, who had stunned Nepal No 1 shuttler Nangsal Devi Tamang in the semi-final, claimed the women’s singles and U-19 singles titles of the seventh Pushpalal Memorial National Badminton Championships in Itahari on Saturday.

Gurung, who on Friday overcame a first set deficit to beat Tribhuvan Army Club (TAC) player Nangsal, edged past 14-year-old Rashila Maharjan of TAC  in the finals of both events. In the women’s final, Gurung got the better of Maharjan 21-13, 21-16 and in U-19 final she raced to 21-14, 21-16 victory. Gurung credited her victory to her new coach and training venue. She has been training under former Nepal No 1 Bikash Shrestha at the Zest Badminton Academy in Basundhara.

Gurung received a total cash prize of Rs 65,000 for securing top finishes—Rs 50,000 as the singles winner and Rs 15,000 as U-19 winners. Maharjan bagged Rs 25,000 and Rs 7,000. The two semi-finalists Tamang and Sunaina Mukhiya bagged Rs 10,000 each. Gurung, who had teamed with Mukhiya in women’s doubles, lost the final match. The duo faced 21-16, 21-18 defeat against the Army pair of Tamang and Anu Rai. The winners and the runners up received Rs 20,000 and Rs 10,000 respectively while the two semi-finalist pair got Rs 5,000 each.

Nangsal’s brother Ratnajit, also of TAC, rubber stamped his domination in the men’s event by defeating Dipesh Dhami of Nepal Armed Police Force (APF) Club. Tamang thumped Dhami 21-13, 21-12 for his sixth title of the tournament. Ratnajit has now amassed a total of 25 career titles in his domestic badminton. Winner Tamang received Rs 50,000 and runner up Dhami walked away with Rs 25,000. Semi-finalists Bikash Shrestha and Nabin Shrestha received Rs 10,000 each.

The men’s doubles saw Army pair of Ratnajit and Nabin Shrestha secure top finish defeating Dhami and Bijit Thapa Magar of APF 21-13, 21-15 in the final. The winners received Rs 20,000 and the runners up got Rs 10,000. Prafulla Maharjan of TAC won the U-19 men’s singles title defeating Rukesh Maharjan of the same departmental team 21-16, 21-18 in the final. The winner and the runner up received Rs 15,000 and Rs 7,000 respectively.

Dhankuta’s Yogeshwar Shrestha and Kiran Pradhan won the veteran’s doubles title. The duo overcame Sunil Shakya and Sugat Ratna Shakya’s pair of Lalitpur 21-15, 21-14 in the final. The winners and the runners up team received Rs 15,000 and Rs 10,000.