Saurabh Verma of ONGC won the men’s singles crown at the 36th PSPB
inter-unit badminton tournament, defeating Aditya Prakash of BPCL 21-14, 12-21, 21-15 in an exciting final on Sunday.
In the women’s final, the all-ONGC tie saw the top seed PC Thulasi squander a 7-2 lead in the second game to lose the tie to Rituparna Das 14-21, 21-12, 21-12.
Coming on the back of a comfortable semifinal win over Sai Praneeth, Saurabh looked on course for a smooth win when he took the first game 21-14. Though Aditya showed glimpses of quality in winning five points in a row to level terms at 12-12, the top seed cashed in on Aditya’s weak net play to wrap up the game.
Aditya stepped up his play as he raced to a 8-0 lead in the second. A product of the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy, Aditya held his nerve to win the game 21-12 and draw parity.
The final game too was a see-saw battle with leads changing hands. It was Aditya who took an early 9-4 lead, raising visions of an upset. But it was not to be as Saurabh, shifted gears to rally past his opponent to win the game and the match 21-15.
In the women’s final, Thulasi couldn’t stop the 18-year-old Rituparna from winning the title. Winning the first game, Thulasi looked on course to win the match. But Rituparna had other plans as she rallied to win the following two games.
Results (All finals): Men: Singles: Saurabh Verma bt Aditya Prakash 21-14, 12-21, 21-15. Doubles: Pra!nav Jerry Chopra/ Tarun Kona w/o Chetan Anand/ Rupesh Kumar KT.
Women: Singles: Rituparna Das bt Thulasi PC 14-21, 21-12, 21-12.
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