Top seed Monisha Vinayak overcame a late challenge from Saumya Padhye 21-8, 24-22 to lift the women’s title in the Narasamma memorial State-ranking badminton tournament at the Malleswaram Association courts on Thursday.
After a few early blemishes, Monisha quickly caught up with her second-seeded opponent and then pushed her back with some delicate drops and clever placements. Reeling off eight points in a row, she bagged the first game 21-8, with the last point coming of a thunderous smash.
However, Saumya raised her game while testing Monisha with a series of deep tosses and grabbed a six-point cushion at 15-9 in the second game. Just when it seemed that Saumya would take the match into the third game, she faltered twice at the net, allowing her mate at Tata Padukone Academy to sneak in.
Monisha grabbed the opportunity with both hands and restored parity at 18-18. But Saumya turned the heat on her opponent by securing the next two points to bring up game point. But Monisha took advantage of two unforced errors from her opponent to gain a 21-20 lead for her first match point.
Saumya managed to ward off two match points only to see her service killed by a smash to trail 22-23. Monisha then wrapped up the match in 26 minutes, the win coming as a confidence-booster ahead of her next assignment for Sri Bhagwan Mahaveer Jain College -- the South Zone inter-collegiate tournament at Vellore.
In the boys’ under-16 semifinal, seventh seed Rajas Jawalkar staged his second coup of the tournament beating No 2 seed Vinay Hari 21-17, 21-19. The Belgaum boy will meet top seed Ajay Patil, who outclassed Chiraag L U in straight games, on Friday.
Results:
Boys: Under-16 (semifinals): Ajay Patil bt L U Chiraag 21-6, 21-16; Rajas Jawalkar bt Vinay Hari 21-17, 21-19. Women: Singles (final): Monisha Vinayak bt Saumya Padhye 21-8, 24-22.