Mumbai : King Shuttlers came up with the perfect combinations and went on to comfortably defeat Solitaire Shuttlers 3-1 in the best-of-five final to claim the top honours in the 2ndYonex Sunrise- NSCI Badminton League (NBL), and played at the NSCI badminton hall, Worli.
Playing before a large gathering of members, who vociferously supported their respective teams, and in the presence of Indian coach P. Gopichand and Indian badminton star Kidambi Shrikant, the King’s got off to a fantastic start by winning the opening two rubbers to jump to a 2-0 lead. Although, Solitaire managed to win the third and reduce the deficit, King’s won the fourth to close out the match.
Gopichand was all praise for the tournament. “It’s really a wonderful tournament and I think that with all the excitement and passion which was seen, it’s amazing. It’s very important to continue to play such tournaments as well as there are lots of people who have shown the competitive spirit and age should not be a barrier and this is exactly why it’s very important to play such tournaments,” the former All-England champion said after the final.
The King’s pairing of Pratik Chhabra and Darshak Tanna faced little opposition from Kashik Mehta and Sunil Tanwani winning the first rubber 21-15, 21-9. Later in the mixed doubles tie, Nikita Thakur and Yamir Sanghvi brushed aside a spirited challenge from Solitaire duo of Supriya Devgun and Nazim D. to post a 21-15, 21-18 win and increase the lead to 2-0.
Solitaire came back into reckoning when their combination of Nikhil Mansukhani and Chirag Kamdar defeated Naushad D. and Karthik Mohta 20-22, 17-21 in the third rubber (1-2).
However, Suneet Kabra and Pranamaya Joshi held their nerves and came good against Neeral Shah and Nikhil Bhansali clinching a deserving 21-13, 25-23 win to ensure King’s wrapped up the match in their favour.
King Shuttlers beat Solitaire Shuttlers 3-1 (Pratik Chhabra/Darshak Tanna bt Kashik Mehta/Sunil Tanwani 21-15, 21-9; Nikita Thakur/Yamir Sanghvi bt Supriya Devgun/Nazim D. 21-15, 21-18; Naushad D./Karthik Mohta lost to Nikhil Mansukhani/Chirag Kamdar 20-22, 17-21; Suneet Kabra/Pranamaya Joshi bt Neeral Shah/Nikhil Bhansali 21-13, 25-23).
