The Hindu : Sport : TN men defeat Kerala to book semifinal berth

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Feb 11, 2006

Sport

Sport - Sports : General

TN men defeat Kerala to book semifinal berth

Principal correspondent

KOLLAM: Defending champion Tamil Nadu moved into the men's semifinals of the 51st senior National ball badminton championships here on Friday.

Displaying virtues of patience and court craft, Tamil Nadu crushed host and last year's runner-up Kerala 29-15, 29-7 in the quarterfinals. Andhra, Railways and Major Ports joined Tamil Nadu in the semifinals.

Jharkhand enters simifinals

In the women's section, Jharkhand announced itself as the dark horse as it entered the semifinals after putting an end to Andhra's campaign in the tournament. Holder Kerala, last year's runner-up Karnataka and Tamil Nadu also booked their semifinal berths.

Error-prone host

The Kerala-Tamil Nadu encounter was a big let down with the host team refusing to learn from earlier mistakes. Kerala committed plenty of errors and often struggled to prolong rallies. They played defensively without conviction and it suited the neighbours, who went for the kill.

Kerala's Girish once again came up with some fine drops to bring cheer to the host camp. But his teammates failed to support him.

The Tamil Nadu players complemented each other well and took big leads in both the sets. The pressure was always on the Kerala team, who eventually caved in without much fight.

Major Ports wins again

Major Ports continued its fine run with a 29-16, 29-8 victory over Pondicherry, while Indian Railways overcame a fighting Hyderabad 29-20, 29-4 to cruise into the semifinals.

In stark contrast, Kerala's eves breezed into the semifinals with an easy 29-4, 29-7 victory over Punjab. The Punjabis seemed overawed by the occasion and committed many errors. The rallies were short as they struggled to keep the ball in play and Kerala won without breaking much sweat.

The results: Men (quarterfinals): Tamil Nadu bt Kerala 29-15, 29-7; AP bt Karnataka 29-17, 29-26; Railways bt Hyderabad 29-20, 29-4; Major Ports bt Pondicherry 29-16, 29-8.

League: Pool A: Punjab bt Maharashtra 29-19, 29-20; MP bt West Bengal 29-20, 29-18.

Pool C: Jharkhand bt Rajasthan 29-27, 29-20; Hyderabad bt Uttaranchal 29-0, 29-4; Karnataka bt Rajasthan 29-7, 29-3.

Pool D: AP bt Maharashtra 29-10, 29-3; AP bt Jammu & Kashmir 29-0, 29-1; Railways bt Orissa 29-5, 29-8.

Women (quarterfinals): Jharkhand bt AP 29-15, 29-20; Kerala bt Punjab 29-4, 29-7; Kerala bt Haryana 29-7, 29-12; Tamil Nadu bt MP 29-7, 29-4.

League: Pool A: Haryana bt Bihar 29-9, 29-9; Bihar bt Chhattisgarh 29-7, 29-6.

Pool B: Punjab bt Hyderabad 29-18, 29-16; Karnataka bt Hyderabad 29-6, 29-13

Pool C: AP bt Maharashtra 29-2, 29-5; MP bt Uttaranchal 29-9, 29-2; MP bt Rajasthan 29-10, 29-6.

Pool D: Jharkhand bt Jammu & Kashmir 29-9, 29-0.

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