Double crown for Aditi, Tasnim, Tanisha in All India Ranking Badminton tournament

NAGPUR: Aditi Bhatt, Tasnim Mir and doubles specialist Tanisha Crasto bagged double crown each in the Yonex Sunrise All India Sub-Junior (U-15 and U-17) Ranking Badminton tournament which concluded at the Divisional Sports Complex in Mankapur here on Sunday.
Uttarakhand's Aditi emerged as the surprise packet in the week-long tourney. Despite her lower ranking, she dominated the U-17 girls category by sweeping both the singles and doubles titles.
In the U-17 girls singles summit clash, eighth seed Aditi shocked seventh seed Taneesha Singh 16-21, 21-13, 21-13 in 50 minutes.Aditi lost the first game but bounced back in style to down her Uttar Pradesh opponent in the next two games.
Earlier in the morning, Aditi along with her Goan partner Tanisha Crasto demolished Treesa Jolly and Mehreen Riza 21-9, 21-13 in the U-17 girls doubles final between the two unseeded pairs.
Tasnim Mir is regarded as one of the emerging talents in the girls section. She did no harm to her reputation by sweeping both the titles in the U-15 girls category. Top seed Tasnim of Gujarat accounted for sixth seed Anupama Upadhyaya 21-19, 21-10 in a one-sided clash.
She completed the grand double when she and her Telangana partner M Meghana Reddy won the U-15 doubles. The top seeded pair of Tasnim and Meghana, trainees of Pullela Gopichand Academy, quelled the spirited challenge from unseeded Maharashtra duo of Riya Habbu and Rhucha Sawant.
In an exciting battle, Tasnim and Meghana were stretched to the limits by Pune girls before winning 22-20, 14-21, 21-15. Riya and Rhucha, trainees of Nikhil Kanetkar Badminton Academy, played well but few unforced errors towards the end of the match cost them the match.
The U-17 boys singles final was one of the most thrilling matches of the seventh and last day. Top seed Maisnam Meiraba of Manipur recorded a come-from-behind 16-21, 21-17, 21-11 win over second seed Sai Charan Koya.
It was a busy day for Pranav Rao Gandham, who was in contention for a triple crown at the start of the day. However, he managed to win only U-15 boys doubles with his Telangana Sai Vishnu Pullela. The top seeded pair of Pranav Rao and Sai Vishnu outwitted second seeds Shivam Mehta and Pranav Sharma 21-13, 19-21, 21-13. Sai Vishnu did not wait for the prize distribution ceremony as he had to catch the flight with his grandmother Subhra, mother of national chief coach Pullela Gopichand.
In the U-17 mixed doubles final, Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto thumped Ravi and Sakshi Gahlawat 21-15, 21-18.
The prize distribution function was held immediately after the finals. Maharashtra Badminton Association (MBA) president and vice-president of Badminton Association of India (BAI) Arun Lakhani was the chief guest. MLA Milind Mane, Sunil Kedar, Girish Vyas, BAI secretary (events) Omar Rashid, MBA secretary SA Shetty, deputy director of sports Subhash Rewatkar, Nagpur District Badminton Association (NDBA) president Kunda Vijaykar, NDBA secretary Mangesh Kashikar, vice-presidents Amit Bajaj and Shriram Purohit were the guests of honour on the occasion.
NDBA treasurer Anant Apte, executive members Bhavesh Deshmukh, Bhavna Agrey and Gurdeep Singh Arora worked hard for the success of the tournament.
RESULTS (All Finals)
U-15 girls singles: 1-Tasnim Mir bt 6-Anupama Upadhyaya 21-19, 21-10.
U-17 girls singles: 8-Aditi Bhatt bt 7-Taneesha Singh 16-21, 21-13, 21-13.
U-15 boys singles: 2-S Sankar Muthusamy bt 1-Pranav Rao Gandham 21-18, 21-11.
U-17 boys singles: 1-Maisnam Meiraba bt 2-Sai Charan Koya 16-21, 21-17, 21-11.
U-15 girls doubles: 2-M Meghana Reddy-Tasnim Mir bt Riya Habbu-Rhucha Sawant 22-20, 14-21, 21-15.
U-17 girls doubles: Aditi Bhatt-Tanisha Crasto bt Treesa Jolly-Mehreen Riza 21-9, 21-13.
U-15 boys doubles: 1-Pranav Rao Gandham-Sai Vishnu Pullela bt 2-Shivam Mehta-Pranav Sharma 21-13, 19-21, 21-13.
U-17 boys doubles: 1-Edwin Joy-Aravind Suresh bt 2-Ayush Raj Gupta-Shubham Patel 21-7, 21-19.
U-17 mixed doubles: Ishaan Bhatnagar-Tanisha Crasto bt Ravi-Sakshi Gahlawat 21-15, 21-18.