The top seeded Indian pair of Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas has won the title of the New Zealand Open Grand Prix on Saturday. The Indian pair fought hard to defeat Japanese duo of Hirokatsu Hashimoto and Noriyasu Hirata in the final in Auckland.

Rupesh-Thomas duo ousted the fourth seeded pair of Hashimoto-Hirata in a three setter match by 21-16 15-21 21-13 in 53 minutes. This title win will boost their morale ahead of World Badminton Championships, which will be held at Hyderabad from 10th August.

Rupesh-Thomas duo had also made into the final of the Australian Open Grand Prix last week in Melbourne where they ended up losing in the final match.