Badminton Championships: PSPB win team title

PATNA: On a gloomy Thursday morning, Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) shone brightly inside Patliputra Sports Complex Indoor Stadium as they humbled Airports Authority of India (AAI) 3-0 to win the 72nd Inter-zonal and Inter-state Badminton Championships.After a close fight in the semis against Maharashtra, few expected AAI to bow out easily but that is what exactly happened despite the presence of the likes of Pratul Joshi Rasika Raje and Chirag Shetty in their ranks. They appeared resigned to their fate right from the word go. It was a meek surrender for the west zone winners in the team events as PSPB hardly broke a sweat.First up, PSPB's Sourabh Varma wasted little time in putting the defending champions ahead with a confident show in men's singles as he knocked over Pratul Joshi in straight games. The 2011national champion won 21-15, 21-16 in 45 minutes. Rituparna Das found little difficulty in dispatching Rasika Raje as PSPB gained a 2-0 lead. Results: Men's singles: Sourabh Varma bt Pratul Joshi 21-15, 21-16. Women's singles: Rituparna Das bt Rasika Raje 21-9, 21-14. Men's doubles: V Diju & T Kona bt C Shetty & MR Arjun 21-17, 21-13