The Hindu : Sport / Badminton : PSPB men keep Rahimtoola Cup

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Wednesday, Jan 24, 2007
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Sport - Badminton

PSPB men keep Rahimtoola Cup

K. Keerthivasan

Chadha Cup stays with PSPB women

CHAMPIONS: The Petroleum Sports Promotion Board men's and women's teams which took the honours in the National badminton championships in Patna on Tuesday. — Photo: Ranjeet Kumar

PATNA: The Rahimtoola Cup for men and the Chadha Cup for women will remain with Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) for a record eighth successive year. In the summit clash of the BSNL inter-state/inter-zonal and Senior National badminton championships at the Secretariat Sports Club here on Tuesday, PSPB men team routed Karnataka 3-0 while PSPB women shut out Air India 2-0.

PSPB's Anup Sridhar, India's No.1, took on Mohit Kamat in the men's first rubber. Mohit, a player who relies on adrenaline, gave Anup a bit of a scare but the defending champion organised himself to script a 21-11, 17-21, 21-8 victory.

Mohit surprised Anup in the second game. Being good at the net, and quick on his feet, he took a 13-12 lead, for the first time in the match. And he started to dominate the rallies. With his teammates cheering him from the stands, Mohit made much use of the positive energy to pocket the second game.

Shifting gears

Anup shifted gears in the deciding game. Wrong-footing Mohit with fine smashes, and early to take the shuttle, Anup made Mohit hop from one end of the court to other. Midway, one could sense the exhaustion on Mohit's face.

Rohan Castelino of Karnataka is undoubtedly a bundle of talent. But against Chetan Anand, Rohan hardly posed any resistance. Chetan put Rohan on the defence from the first point and maintained it that way to post a comprehensive 21-15, 21-7 win.

Karnataka fought back gallantly from two matches down against Air India in the semifinals the other day. The turnaround happened in the doubles then. A repeat act, however, did not occur. The crack PSPB doubles pair of Rupesh Kumar and V. Diju defeated Ajit Wijetilekk and Jose George 21-11, 21-15 to seal the tie.

This PSPB pair is a delight to watch. Rupesh with his half-smashes and drops and V. Diju with his wonderful anticipation at the net and hard smashes from the backcourt, kept picking points with ease. Surprisingly, Ajit was not quick at the net, his smashes did not carry enough sting, and Jose, too was rather ordinary.

Saina good

Saina Nehwal packed enough punch to overcome Sayali Gokhale 21-10, 21-16 in the first women's match while the doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Shruti Kurien, who hasn't lost a match in the team event, defeated Sayali Gokhale and Neha Pandit 21-16, 21-16.

The individual events get underway on Wednesday.

The results (finals):

Men: PSPB bt Kar 3-0 (Anup Sridhar bt Mohit Kamat 21-11, 17-21, 21-8; Chetan Anand bt Rohan Castelino 21-15, 21-7; Rupesh Kumar/V. Diju bt Ajit Wijetilekk/Jose George 21-11, 21-15).

Women: PSPB bt Air India 2-0 (Saina Nehwal bt Sayali Gokhale 21-10, 21-16; Jwala Gutta/Shruti Kurien bt Sayali Gokhale/Neha Pandit 21-16, 21-16).

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