Mumbai : It was a double delight for Nagpur’s Vaishnavi Bhale as she won the women’s singles and doubles titles in the Safal 1st Maharashtra senior state selection badminton tournament conducted by Sports United at the Chembur Gymkhana. The fourth seeded Vaishnavi secured a convincing 21-15, 21-18 win in 35 minutes over Pune’s left-handed shuttler, Shruti Mundada to win the women’s singles crown. Bhale then teamed up with Mundada, the opponent she beat in the singles final, to defeat the pair of Pune’s Manasi Gadgil and Mumbai’s Vaishnavi Iyer 21-18, 21-19 to emerge victorious in the women’s doubles.
In the men’s group, the top seeded Nigel D’sa outplayed the fourth seed, Ameya Oak 21-6, 21-11 in a totally one sided final that lasted just thirty minutes. In the doubles final, the top seeded pair of Thane’s Abhishek Kulkarni and Pune’s Nishad Dravid pulled off a nail biting 21-16, 14-21, 21-19 win over the second seeded Thane duo of Akshay Raut and Prasad Shetty. Sameer Bhagwat and Gauri Ghate upset the top seeds Nishad Dravid and Manasi Gadgil of Pune 21-23, 21-17, 21-12 to win the mixed doubles title. The finalists received attractive cash prizes, glittering trophies and certificates at the hands of former Indian badminton player, Pradeep Gandhe and Safal group’s Sanjay Asrani in presence of Chembur Gymkhana’s President, Balkrishan Wadhawan and other dignitaries.
Result: Singles – Vaishnavi Bhale bt. Shruti Mundada 21-15, 21-18.
Doubles – Vaishnavi Bhale & Shruti Mundada bt. Manasi Gadgil (Pune) & Vaishnavi Iyer (Mumbai) 21-18, 21-19.
