JOIN USFarid reigns supreme
In a real test of nerves Daniel Farid overcame Abhishek Yeligar to triumph in the men’s singles final of the R Subbanna Memorial and Yonex Karnataka State badminton championship held at the Karnatkaka Badminton Association here on Saturday.
It was edge of the seat action in the final game, with both players exchanging points at will, Farid outfoxed his opponent to win 21-13, 13-21, 26-24.
Farid began the match on the offensive with an array of smashes and deft cross-court drop shots as he clinched the first game 21-13.
It was just the wake-up call Yeligar needed and he made a strong comeback in the second game.
A visibly frustrated Farid was made to cover the length and breadth of the court with Yeligar mixing his shots well.
The second game ended in the same scoreline as the first albeit with Yeligar winning the game.
It was make or break for both players as they fiercely slugged it out in the final game. Farid raced to an early 4-0 lead but slipped up to allow Yeligar into the game.
At the half way stage the scoreboard read 11-10 in favour of Yeligar, who was making a deliberate attempt to slow the pace of the game and put his opponent off.
Yeligar was handed his first match point at 20-18 but squandered it and scores were level at 20 all.
With both players tiring and a slew of unforced errors creeping into the game, it was going to be a matter of who could eke out that little extra to see off the match.
The gritty Farid refused to lie low and saved three more match points to bring the scores to 25-24 in his favour and completed his victory with a drop shot, which was a trademark of his game from start to finish.
The boys’ under-17 final was another close affair with Sai Pratheek Krishna Prasad, seeded two, edging out third seed Tejas Kallolkar 21-15, 17-21, 21-19.
Fifth seeded Deepthi Ramesh overcame a disappointing loss in the girls’ under-17 final to Trisha Hegde and won the under-19 final by defeating third seed Sheetal D 21-9, 21-15.
Deepthi overpowered her opponent as she covered the court with great ease, while making Sheetal pay for her lacklustre display.
Earlier, Deepthi had gone down to Hegde 22-20, 25-23.Results (all finals): Men’s: Single: 3-Daniel Farid bt 9-Abhishek Yeligar 21-13, 13-21, 26-24.
Doubles: 3-Prakash Raj S/Vaibhav bt 4-Kiran Kumar G/Madhusudan M 14-21, 21-13, 27-25.
Boys: U-19: Singles: 1-Balraj Kajla bt 2-Raghu M 21-19, 21-15.U-17: Singles: 2-Sai Pratheek Krishna Prasad bt 3-Tejas Kallolkar 21-15, 17-21, 21-19.
Girls U-19: Singles: 5-Deepthi Ramesh bt 3-Sheethal D 21-9, 21-15.U-17: 5-Trisha Hegde bt 2-Deepthi Ramesh 22-20, 25-23.