The Hindu : Sport / Badminton : Anup, Saina reign

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Monday, Jan 07, 2008
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Anup, Saina reign

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: Anup Sridhar delighted the capacity crowd with his high quality game, by beating J.B.S. Vidyadhar with precision and speed, in the final of the all-India Pramod Mahajan memorial badminton tournament here on Sunday.

On a day when Saina Nehwal won a double crown in the women’s section with equal felicity, the fans’ admiration was reserved for Sridhar as he recovered from a slow start and a 6-11 deficit in the first game to outplay the talented Vidyadhar 21-16, 21-14. Earlier, Saina asserted her undisputed supremacy with a 21-10, 21-14 victory over Sayali Gokhale in the singles final.

In winning the richest domestic tournament in the country that fetched her a purse of Rs.110,000, with such ease, the lass from Hyderabads, supported by the Mittal Champions Trust in her bid for an Olympic medal, showed that the rest had a lot of work to catch up with her.

Later, Saina had more reason to smile as she combined with Aparna Balan to take the doubles title against Anita Ohlan and Dhanya Nair. She added Rs. 25,000 as her share to the prize collection. In the men’s doubles final, the top-seeded Sanave Thomas and Rupesh Kumar bounced back from the brink of defeat, to overwhelm V. Diju and Akshaye Dewalkar.

Former President Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam gave away the prizes.

The results (finals): Men: Singles: Anup Sridhar bt J. B. S. Vidyadhar 21-16, 21-14. Doubles: Sanave Thomas & Rupesh Kumar bt V. Diju & Akshaye Dewalkar 16-21, 21-19, 21-14.

Women: Singles: Saina Nehwal bt Sayali Gokhale 21-10, 21-14. Doubles: Saina & Aparna Balan bt Anita Ohlan & Dhanya Nair 21-10, 21-18.

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