Mumbai : The fourth seeded pair of Sachin Bharati and Kiran Shete will clash against the second seeded duo of Shailesh Daga and Naheed Divecha in the open mixed doubles semi-finals of the Matunga Gymkhana Maharashtra state masters inter-club badminton tournament.
In the first quarter-final, Sachin and Kiran, who are qualified badminton referees, won points at crucial stages to defeat Hamir Desai and Shalini Kandhari 21-18, 21-19 while, the pair of Anand Vithalkar and former India captain of the women’s hockey team, Sybil Miranda went down fighting 6-21, 15-21 against Shailesh and Naheed.
In the other quarter-finals of mixed doubles, Sidhraj Shah and Nitika Thakur eased past the husband and wife pair of Amar and Anagha Ainapure 21-7, 21-16 to enter the semis where they will clash against the top seeded duo of Sushant Niddodi and Deanne Rodrigues who beat Ashutosh Pednekar and Dimple Sinha 21-18, 21-14 .
In the team event, defending champions Bombay Gymkhana will play against Brihanmumbai Krida & Lalitkala Pratishthan (BKLP) in the first semi-final while, P.J. Hindu Gymkhana will meet Dadoji Konddev (Thane) in the other semis.
Quarter- final results –
Open mixed doubles – Sachin Bharati & Kiran Shete bt. Hamir Desai & Shalini Kandhari 21-18, 21-19; Shailesh Daga & Naheed Divecha bt. Anand Vithalkar & Sibyl Miranda 21-6, 21-15; Sidhraj Shah & Nitika Thakur bt. Amar Ainapure & Anagha Ainapure 21-7, 21-16;
Sushant Niddodi & Deanne Rodrigues bt. Ashutosh Pednekar & Dimple Sinha 21-18, 21-14.
Team Event – Bombay Gymkhana bt. Catholic Gymkhana ‘B’ 2-0; BKLP bt. MCF ‘A’ 2-0; P.J. Hindu Gymkhana bt. Catholic Gymkhana ‘A’ 2-0; Dadoji Konddev bt. SEL Badminton 2-0 .
