Navaneeth pockets title

Aishwarya eases past Sahana for womens crown

At the Bangalore Medical College, Navaneeth registered a comfortable 11-7, 11-4, 11-6, 11-6 victory over Jaideep Das of South Western Railway in the summit clash while Aishwarya hardly broke sweat in beating Sahana Kulkarni of Maharashtra Mandal, Hubli  11-6, 11-3, 11-7, 11-5 in the women’s final.

The men’s final began with Jaideep giving top seed Navaneeth a run for his money in the early stages of the first game.  Leading 5-4, Jaideep had a chance to break through but the Railwayman tried too hard, allowing Navaneeth to get back in the game. The BNM Institute of Technology student played some splendid winners to finish the game at 11-7.

The second game was a treat for the spectators as Navaneeth and Jaideep were involved in a few spectacular rallies. The former came out on top on almost all occasions, helped to a large extent by the latter’s erratic returns. Navaneeth closed out the game at 11-4 without much bother.  Navaneeth’s brilliant table sense was most certainly the key difference between the players.

In the third game, Jaideep, although fighting hard and stretching Navaneeth on many an occasion, struggled to get his dimensions right, hitting wide and far. Navaneeth toyed with the West Bengal player to claim the game 11-6.

The fourth game was a predictable affair with Navaneeth dominating the proceedings. Leading 6-4, the 19-year-old was pegged back a little before wrapping up the match 11-6.

Results: Men (final): Navaneeth AR (BNM) bt Jaideep Das (SWR) 11-7, 11-4, 11-6, 11-6. (Semifinals): Navaneeth bt Sagairaj (SWR) 11-5, 11-8, 6-11, 11-7, 11-3; Jaideep bt Sunand Vasan (HOR) 6-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-9, 8-11, 11-8. (Quarterfinals): Navaneeth bt Shiladitya Nag (SWR) 11-7, 11-7, 11-7, 11-7; Sagairaj bt Anirban Tarafdar (CB) 11-8, 11-9, 11-8, 5-11, 12-10; Sunand bt Vedanth M Urs (HV) 12-10, 11-7, 9-11, 8-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-7; Jaideep bt Vaibhav Dahibate (BNM) 14-12, 8-11, 14-12, 11-5, 9-11, 11-9.
Women (final): Aishwarya Bidri (BNM) bt Sahana Kulkarni (MM) 11-6, 11-3, 11-7, 11-5. (Semifinals): Aishwarya bt Maitreyee Bailoor (BTTA) 7-11, 6-11, 11-7, 13-11, 11-7, 11-8; Sahana bt Bhavana Harane (BNM) 12-10, 11-7, 15-13, 11-8. (Quarterfinals): Maitreyee bt Swathi SM (JTTA) 11-6, 11-6, 11-4, 11-8; Aishwarya bt Arpitha BS (SBMJC) 7-11, 11-5, 11-9, 11-6, 11-8; Bhavana bt Sandhya L (JTTA) 11-4, 7-11, 14-12, 11-8, 8-11, 6-11, 11-6; Sahana bt Raksha R (JTTA) 11-7, 10-12, 11-5, 11-8, 11-6.
Team events (final): South Western Railway (SWR) bt BNM ‘A’: 3-2. (Semifinals): SWR bt Canara Union: 3-0; BNM ‘A’bt AGORC: 3-0.