<p>Second seed Praneeth outwitted top-seeded Sourabh Verma of Petroleum Sports Promotion Board 21-13, 10-21, 21-16 in an exciting men’s final contest that lasted 54 minutes. Third-seeded Sayali, who ousted top seed Neha Pandit in Sunday’s semifinals, eased past Air India team-mate unseeded Tanvi Lad 21-16, 21-17 to grab the women’s title.<br /><br />Praneeth then teamed up with Nanda Gopal K to complete a grand double by beating Pranav Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar 22-20, 14-21, 21-15 in the men’s doubles final. <br /><br />Praneeth, who had suffered defeats in title rounds at the hands of Sourabh last month in Mumbai and at the start of the year in Atul in National-ranking tournaments, was third time lucky. “This is the first time I am beating Sourabh in the finals,” said an elated Praneeth. “In Mumbai, I was serving for the match but then I lost. It has happened to me on several occasions. So now I am happy that I won a close contest.”<br /><br />After taking the first game 21-13 by mixing caution with aggression, the teenager continued with the same rhythm in the second game until 10-11. But Sourabh put up a steady fight after that as he came up with a couple of smashes down the line and a backhand half-smash to move ahead by four points at 15-11. <br /><br />Praneeth made things easy for his rival, committing unforced errors during that period, and after that, the 19-year-old gave up the fight as Sourabh levelled games at 1-1.<br /><br />The Gopichand Academy trainees then dished out a thrilling third game as they were locked 10-all but Praneeth gradually took control with pin-point drops and powerful smashes to go 15-12 in front. Praneeth further stretched the lead before a reflex smash off Sourabh’s serve gave him four match points. Praneeth pumped his fist in celebration when Sourabh hit a smash out to hand the latter a 21-16 win in the decider and the crown.<br /><br />Sayali’s victory was in total contrast to the men’s final as she made her opponent do all the running. But for unforced errors, the 24-year-old Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy shuttler could have won by a far bigger margin.<br /><br />Results (finals, prefix number denotes seeding): Men: 2-B Sai Praneeth (PSPB) bt 1-Sourabh Verma (PSPB) 21-13, 10-21, 21-16.<br /><br />Doubles: 4-Sai Praneeth/ Nanda Gopal K (PSPB/ AAI) bt 1-Pranav Chopra/ Akshay Dewalkar (PSPB/ AI) 22-20, 14-21, 21-15.<br /><br />Women: Sayali Gokhale (AI) bt Tanvi Lad (AI) 21-16, 21-17.<br /><br />Doubles: 4-Aparna Balan/ N Sikki Reddy (PSPB/AAI) bt 1-Pradnya Gadre/ Prajakta Sawant (AI/PSPB) 21-16, 16-21, 21-19. Mixed doubles: 1-Pranav Chopra/ Prajakta Sawant (PSPB) bt 2-Arun Vishnu/ Aparna Balan (PSPB) 21-15, 22-20.</p>
<p>Second seed Praneeth outwitted top-seeded Sourabh Verma of Petroleum Sports Promotion Board 21-13, 10-21, 21-16 in an exciting men’s final contest that lasted 54 minutes. Third-seeded Sayali, who ousted top seed Neha Pandit in Sunday’s semifinals, eased past Air India team-mate unseeded Tanvi Lad 21-16, 21-17 to grab the women’s title.<br /><br />Praneeth then teamed up with Nanda Gopal K to complete a grand double by beating Pranav Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar 22-20, 14-21, 21-15 in the men’s doubles final. <br /><br />Praneeth, who had suffered defeats in title rounds at the hands of Sourabh last month in Mumbai and at the start of the year in Atul in National-ranking tournaments, was third time lucky. “This is the first time I am beating Sourabh in the finals,” said an elated Praneeth. “In Mumbai, I was serving for the match but then I lost. It has happened to me on several occasions. So now I am happy that I won a close contest.”<br /><br />After taking the first game 21-13 by mixing caution with aggression, the teenager continued with the same rhythm in the second game until 10-11. But Sourabh put up a steady fight after that as he came up with a couple of smashes down the line and a backhand half-smash to move ahead by four points at 15-11. <br /><br />Praneeth made things easy for his rival, committing unforced errors during that period, and after that, the 19-year-old gave up the fight as Sourabh levelled games at 1-1.<br /><br />The Gopichand Academy trainees then dished out a thrilling third game as they were locked 10-all but Praneeth gradually took control with pin-point drops and powerful smashes to go 15-12 in front. Praneeth further stretched the lead before a reflex smash off Sourabh’s serve gave him four match points. Praneeth pumped his fist in celebration when Sourabh hit a smash out to hand the latter a 21-16 win in the decider and the crown.<br /><br />Sayali’s victory was in total contrast to the men’s final as she made her opponent do all the running. But for unforced errors, the 24-year-old Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy shuttler could have won by a far bigger margin.<br /><br />Results (finals, prefix number denotes seeding): Men: 2-B Sai Praneeth (PSPB) bt 1-Sourabh Verma (PSPB) 21-13, 10-21, 21-16.<br /><br />Doubles: 4-Sai Praneeth/ Nanda Gopal K (PSPB/ AAI) bt 1-Pranav Chopra/ Akshay Dewalkar (PSPB/ AI) 22-20, 14-21, 21-15.<br /><br />Women: Sayali Gokhale (AI) bt Tanvi Lad (AI) 21-16, 21-17.<br /><br />Doubles: 4-Aparna Balan/ N Sikki Reddy (PSPB/AAI) bt 1-Pradnya Gadre/ Prajakta Sawant (AI/PSPB) 21-16, 16-21, 21-19. Mixed doubles: 1-Pranav Chopra/ Prajakta Sawant (PSPB) bt 2-Arun Vishnu/ Aparna Balan (PSPB) 21-15, 22-20.</p>
