Badminton: Momentous win for Karnataka

Karnataka captures the 77th Inter-State Inter-Zonal title for only the second time after a gap of 47 years.

Bengaluru: Railways’ Chirag Sen, Sai Prateek and Pruthvi Roy K were the players standing between Karnataka and their pursuit of a team championship trophy at the Karnataka Badminton Association here on Thursday. 

The first hurdle against Chirag was always going to be a tough one to cross. But the hosts’ strategy to place their bet on the other four ties in the summit clash yielded a memorable result. Among them, the young pair of Nicholas Nathan Raj and Tushar Suveer rose to the occasion to score a stunning victory in the doubles rubber that saw Karnataka capture the 77th Inter-State Inter-Zonal title for only the second time after a gap of 47 years.

“This is one of the biggest wins for Karnataka badminton. We lost a close final last year to finish runners-up. We wanted to turn things around this time. And to do it at home gives us more joy,” said Jagadish Yadav, coach of the Karnataka side. 

Taking to court first, Karnataka's Saneeth DS used every trick in his bag to stop a fancied Chirag in the opening match-up. It wasn’t to be, and as expected, Railways took a 1-0 lead by virtue of Chirag’s 23-21, 21-16 win. 

It then came down to Bhargav S to keep Ayush Shetty, his Karnataka-mate representing Railways at the event, at bay. The home side’s game-plan took an early blow as it was Ayush who made the first strike by winning 21-13. In a barrage of smashes and delicate drops that followed, Bhargav won the second game 21-18 before taking the third 21-16 to seal the match. 

All eyes were now on the doubles battle. Pruthvi and Pratheek looked more confident out of the quartet on the court. The Railways’ duo outmaneuvered Nicholas and Tushar to win the first game (21-16). The change of side seemed to have changed Karnataka’s fortunes as their pair ran away with a 21-9 win in the second. 

With a sizable crowd cheering on, Nicholas and Tushar created openings to attack through better net play. That tactic worked wonders in favour of the local boys in the third game for a 21-19 win. 

The impetus from the doubles win was enough for a free-flowing and attacking Raghu M to thrash an out-of-sorts Siddharth Pratap Singh (21-12, 21-10) for the Karnataka squad to begin their celebrations. 

The women’s final had its own share of thrills. Favourites Haryana, with rising shutttlers Anmol Kharb and Unnati Hooda, were made to toil by a resilient Gujarat during their 3-2 win for their maiden title. 

While Karnataka men will be rewarded an additional prize money of Rs 6.5 lakh, Haryana announced Rs 5 lakh for their women’s title winners. 

Results: Final: Men: Karnataka bt Railway 3-1 (Saneeth DS lt to Chirag Sen 21-23, 16-21; Bhargav S bt Ayush Shetty 13-21, 21-18, 21-16; Nicholas Nathan Raj/ Tushar Suveer bt Pruthvi Roy K/ Sai Pratheek K 16-21, 21-9, 21-19; Raghu M bt Siddharth Pratap Singh 21-12, 21-10). 

Women: Haryana bt Gujarat 3-2 (Devika Sihag lt to Tasnim Mir 25-27, 10-21; Anmol Kharb bt Adita Rao 14-21, 21-17, 21-15; Unnati Hooda/ Anmol Kharb bt Shenan Christian/ Anjali Rawat 21-8, 21-12; Unnati Hooda lt to Shreya Lele 21-19, 19-21, 15-21; Devika Sihag/ Ridhi Kaur Toor bt Tasnim Mir/ Adita Rao 9-21, 21-19, 21-13). 

Former players shower praise

The mood at the Karnataka Badminton Association was that of joy. Everybody from the office bearers to the staff here rejoiced the state’s men’s squad winning the team championships trophy, the first of which came way back in 1977. Former players from the state and now coaches Vimal Kumar, Anup Sridhar and Aravind Bhat who were present at the venue, too couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride. 

“It is a great result for Karnataka. I think we won sometime in the 1970s. In 1988, we were very close to winning but Prakash (Padukone) became seriously ill,” reminisced Vimal.  “Karnataka have continuously worked to produce players and this is a great reward for that effort."

Standing on opposite sides of the court in the 2006 edition of the event here, Anup and Aravind on Thursday stood beside each other watching, smiling and cheering for the Karnataka side. 

“It's fantastic for us. Even in the opposing team, the majority of them were players from Karnataka. They are all capable and hope to see them do well at international events going forward,” expressed Anup while Aravind agreed: “Very happy. There is always a strong Karnataka presence at every senior Nationals. Hopefully some of our players will be able to win a few individual titles as well.”