Mumbai Suburban shock Pune to win Inter-District badminton title

AURANGABAD: The final between Mumbai Suburban and Pune was billed as the battle between youth and experience. In the end, youth prevailed over experience as Mumbai Suburban stun defending champions and hot favourite Pune 3-1 to emerge champions in the Maharashtra Senior Inter-District Badminton Championship at the Divisional Sports Complex here on Tuesday.
Teenagers Kaushal Dharmammer, Chirag Shetty and the pair of Karishma Wadkar and Sanjana Santosh were the architects of Mumbai Suburban’s triumph.
The left-handed Kaushal provided the perfect start for Mumbai Suburban as he won the first singles against Arya Bhivapathaki. Using powerful smashes and clever placements, Kaushal outsmarted his rival from Pune in straight games.
Neha Pandit restored parity for Pune by winning her women's singles against Riya Pillai. In both the games, Neha was down initially but she used her experience to make a comeback to wrap up the match in two games.
The most crucial match of the final was men's doubles and perhaps holders made a tactical error in the line-up. Pune broke their regular pair of Sameer Bhagwat and Varun Khanvalkar and fielded Nishad Dravid and Khanvalkar. The move backfired as Chirag and Kaushal completely dominated the veteran duo with their fast and aggressive display for an all-important 2-1 lead.
Trailing 1-2, Pune had to win their women’s doubles to stay in the tie. The pair of Revati Devasthale and Shruti Mundada raced to win in the first game against Karishma and Sanjana, which gave a much-needed relief to Pune dugout.
In the next game too, Pune girls were in control till midway. However, Karishna and Sanjana suddenly lifted themselves under pressure to win the next two games by a wafer-thin margin of 21-19, 21-19 to clinch the tie.
Earlier in the semifinals, Pune stopped the impressive run of Greater Mumbai, while Mumbai Suburban quelled the spirited challenge from Thane to enter the final.
In the quarterfinal it was heartbreak for Nagpur. The semifinalist in the last edition, Nagpur lost 2-3 after leading 2-0 against Greater Mumbai. Pranav Lokhande and Vaishnavi Bhale won their respective singles but Nagpur lost rest three doubles quite closely. Gauri Ghate was the star performer for GMBA as she won both the women’s doubles and mixed doubles.
In other quarters, Pune outclassed Raigad, Mumbai Suburban defeated Aurangabad, while Thane overcame Nashik.
Aurangabad District Shuttle Badminton Association president Shirish Boralkar and ADSBA secretary Siddharth Patil distributed the prizes.
RESULTS
(Final) Mumbai Suburban bt Pune 3-1 (Kaushal Dharmammer bt Arya Bhivapathaki 21-8, 21-11; Riya Pillai lost to Neha Pandit 15-21, 19-21; Chirag Shetty-Kaushal Dharmammer bt Nishad Dravid-Varun Khanvalkar 21-14, 21-12; Karishma Wadkar-Sanjana Santosh bt Revati Devasthale-Shruti Mundada 9-21, 21-19, 21-19).
(Semifinals) Pune bt GMBA 3-0 (Arya Bhivpathaki bt Siddhesh Aroskar 21-11, 21-12; Neha Pandit bt Gauri Ghate 19-21, 21-7, 21-16; Sameer Bhagwat-Varun Khanwalkar bt Viplav Kuvale-Firoz Mulani 21-18, 21-18).
MSDBA bt Thane 3-1 (Kaushal Dharmammer bt Aman Farogh 21-6, 21-10; Riya Pillai bt Mrunamyee Deshpande 21-8, 21-17; Kaushal Dharmammer-Chirag Shetty lost to Akshay Dewalkar-Eshan Naqvi 21-12, 20-22, 18-21; Sanjana Santosh-Karishma Wadkar bt Vallari Bukane-Mrunmayee Deshpande 21-16, 21-8).