Twin titles for Maharashtra in West Zone Badminton Championship

UJJAIN: Pre-tournament hot favourites Maharashtra lived up to their reputation and won both the Seniors as well as Juniors titles in the West Zone Inter-State Mixed Team Badminton Championship at Madhav Club here on Friday.
Defending champions Maharashtra rallied back splendidly to trounce Chhattisgarh 3-1 in the Seniors summit clash.
India No. 2 Shreyansh Jaiswal gave Chhattisgarh the best possible start by defeating Maharashtra skipper Harsheel Dani.Both Jaiswal and Dani fought gallantly for each point in a high-quality opener.
Jaiswal's outstanding effort failed to inspire the rest of Chhattisgarh members as Maharashtra staged a remarkable recovery to win the next three matches of the final en route to triumph.
Neha Pandit levelled the scores 1-1 by dismissing Deepali Gupta in the women's singles.
Experienced pair Varun Khanwalkar and Eshan Naqvi won the men's doubles to help Maharashtra take lead.
The tie was sealed by Vaishnavi Bhale and Shruti Mundada as the Nagpur-Pune pair won the women's doubles without any major problems.
Earlier in the morning, Maharashtra colts quelled the spirited challenge from hosts Madhya Pradesh 3-1 to regain the title. The victory also completed a sweet revenge as last year MP had shocked Maharashtra in their own backyard at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai.
Arya Bhivpathaki survived a couple of match points to squeeze past Alap Mishra in three exciting games in the first singles.
Vaidehi Choudhuri rosé to the occasion to stun in-form Shriyanshi Pardeshi in straight games.
National junior champion Shriyanshi last week had won the All India Senior ranking tournament at Itanagar but Vaidehi came up with an inspired performance and made it 2-0 for Maharashtra.
The home crowd was on their feet when MP boys doubles pair of Pramesh Patidar and Sanjay Thakur edged out Sourabh Kerhalkar and Deep Rambhiya in a sensational three-game thriller.
With scores reading 1-2, MP looked to bounce back. However, Maharashtra girls doubles duo Ritika Thaker and Simran Singhi shattered the home team's dream with a straight-game win over Sanjeevani Marathe and Anshu Sharma to clinch the title.
Maharashtra coach Mayur Tawde was jubilant after the finals. "It was a very good result. Winning both the titles was pretty satisfying. We have now qualified for the Senior and Junior Nationals," said Tawde.
RESULTS (Finals)
Seniors: Maharashtra bt Chhattisgarh 3-1 (Harsheel Dani lost to Shreyansh Jaiswal 16-21, 19-21; Neha Pandit bt Deepali Gupta 21-10, 21-17; Varun Khanwalkar-Eshan Naqvi bt Pavan Malik-Siddharth Pratap Singh 21-17, 21-15; Vaishnavi Bhale-Shruti Mundada bt Diksha Choudhary-Deepali Gupta 22-20, 21-15).
Juniors U-19: Maharashtra bt Madhya Pradesh 3-1 (Arya Bhivpathaki bt Alap Mishra 21-18, 20-22, 23-21; Vaidehi Choudhuri bt Shriyanshi Pardeshi 21-11, 21-18; Sourabh Kerhalkar-Deep Rambhiya lost to Pramesh Patidar-Sanjay Thakur 19-21, 21-17, 18-21; Ritika Thaker-Simran Singhi bt Sanjeevani Marathe-Anshu Sharma 21-15, 21-15).