Devika Sihag Wins Maiden International Challenge Title at Malaysia Badminton Tournament

Photo from X(Twitter)

Indian shuttler Devika Sihag emerged victorious in the women's singles title of the Malaysia International Challenge 2025 badminton competition held in Ipoh. The 20 year old beat fifth seeded Indian Isharani Baruah 15-7, 15-12 in a 25 minute finale. The competition was held under the Badminton World Federation's (BWF) trial 3×15 scoring system, where the triumph goes to the best of three 15-point games, and not the traditional 21 point system.

This is Devika's maiden International Challenge trophy, one ranking above International Series events on the BWF Continental Circuit with a grade 3, level 1 rating. To compare, her other International Series titles such as the 2024 Swedish Open and Portugal International have a grade 3, level 2 rating. She won the senior National Badminton Championship in Bengaluru this year.

100^th ranked Devika beat top players in this tournament. Devika beat former junior world number one Tasnim Mir in a hard-fought semi-final (11-15, 15-9, 16-14). She had already beaten Japan's top seed and world number 36 Manami Suizu 15-10, 15-11 in the quarter-finals. In the previous rounds, she beat Mexico's Cristina Perez and Malaysia's Lee Mun comprehensively in straight games.

In the men's singles, Mithun Manjunath reached the semi-finals with top seeded Manraj Singh losing in the quarter-finals.

Devika's Ipoh victory follows a fantastic 2025 season with playing supporting roles as India took bronze at the World University Games in Germany. Her wins demonstrate steady improvement on the badminton world stage and augur well for future tournaments.