The big match temperament of third seed Tiann Castellino was once again on display against top seed Anvisha Ghorpade, as she scored an upset win in three games to lift the Girls U-15 singles title in Yonex-Sunrise Gautam Thakkar Memorial Junior State Badminton Championships, sponsored by Shyam Bhatia (Cricket for Care) at the Bombay Gymkhana late on Sunday.
The young shuttlers were cheered on by a star studded crowd, among them close friends of the late Gauram Thakkar, Sunil Gavaskar, Shyam Bhatia, Khalid Ansari and Aparna Popat, to name a few. The event was promoted by Badminton Gurukul.
After losing the first game 17-2,Tiann made a strong comeback in the closely-fought second. With Anvisha trying to close out the match and Tiann hanging on to stay in contention, the game saw long rallies and some clever moves at the net, but it was Tiann, who kept her nerves in the final stages to close out the game 22-20. Tiann then won the decider relatively easily to emerge a 17-21, 22-20-21-14 winner.
Boys U-15 top seed Aditya Padwal also had a scare against Chandranshu Gundle when he dropped the second game, but that proved a temporary setback as he collected his wits to win the decider and close out the match 21-17, 15-21, 21-15. Padwal bagged a creditable double when he partnered with Gundle to defeat Sairaj Samant and Sumedh Surve 16-21, 21-10, 21-12.
There was also an upset in the Girls U-13 final, with second seed Riddhi Khopkar getting the better of top seed Spruha Jpshi 21-15, 12-21, 22-20.
Results (all finals)
BS U11: Vivaan Waingankar (1) bt Nevan Denis 21-7, 21-14; U13:
Shlok Goyal (1) bt Alfy Mekkadath (5) 21-10, 21-9; U15: Aditya Padwal (1) bt Chandranshu Gundle 21-17, 15-21, 21-15.
BD U15: Aditya Padwal/Chandranshu Gundle (1) bt Sairaj Samant/Sumedh Surve 16-21, 21-10, 21-12.
GS U11: Priya Amburle (1) bt Khrisha Goyal 21-12, 21-19; U13: Riddhi Khopkar (2) bt Spruha Joshi (1) 21-15, 12-21, 22-20; U15: Tiann Castellino (3) bt Anvisha Ghorpade (1) 17-21, 22-20, 21-14.
GD U15: Aaradhya Shukla/Riddhi Khopkar (2) bt Poorvi Shirke/Rudra Gawde 15-21, 23-21, 21-19.
