Fighters, who suffered a 2-3 defeat to Flypower Warriors on Sunday, put up a commanding show to register their second win. They beat K2 Smashers on the opening day. Rohan Castelino put Aratt Fighters in front with a 21-10, 21-7 thumping of Jagdish Yadav in a match that lasted just 25 minutes. Jacqueline Rose Kunnath, then powered her way to a comfortable victory, outclassing Uttara Prakash 21-6, 21-11 as the Fighters stayed on course for an easy victory, taking a 2-0 lead. Ashwini Ponnappa teamed up with Govind MK to beat Praveen B and Divya A 21-13, 21-15 to help Fighters secure an unassailable 3-0 margin.
Ashwini, who had a different partner after Srijesh Soman, who played in the first two days injured his right knee, wasn’t at her best but did just enough to come unscathed.
Rohan’s aggressive tactics caught his opponent off guard as the 26-year-old cruised along, producing smashes at will to fetch a 14-4 lead. Castelino kept the shuttle on the backcourt, never giving any sort of room to Yadav, and dictated terms at the net.
He continuosly attacked Yadav’s backhand with the Peacock player’s return, on most occasions, lacking power and placement. Castelino made the most of the weak returns, by coming up with thundering smashes. That forced Yadav to retrieve to the baseline. Castelino answered with a pinpoint drop that left Yadav stranded and former National Junior champion continued his impressive display to storm into a 20-8 lead.
He then took the game with a peach of a point. After manoeuvring the shuttle from one one corner to another, he made Yadav do all the running before unleashing a down-the-centre smash, hit with such power that the shuttle bounced off the court. Yadav never recovered from the onslaught and fared poorly in the second game.
On the other hand, Castelino, brimming in confidence, eased his way into a 20-7 lead. In between, Yadav had a rare moment of success -- diving to his right at full stretch to retrieve a smash that the crowd appreciated with a big applause. Castelino, however, ended Yadav’s agony with a backhand smash.
In the other match of the day, Team Cane Boutique overcame Li Ning Lions 3-1 for their first win in three ties.
Results: Aratt Fighters bt White Peacock 3-0 (Rohan Castelino bt Jagdish Yadav 21-10, 21-7; Jacqueline Rose Kunnath bt Uttara Prakash 21-6, 21-11; Govind M K/ Ashwini Ponnappa bt Praveen B/ Divya A 21-13, 21-15.
Team Cane Boutique bt Li Ning Lions bt 3-1 (Goutham Bhat bt Irshad Khan 23-21, 21-17; Mahima Agarwal bt Jamuna Rani 21-14, 16-21, 21-16; Sobin Soman/ Harshita P lt to Abhinand Shetty/ Nitya Sosale 10-21, 18-21; Mohit Kamat bt Sonic Prabhudesai 21-13, 21-16).
