Shlok, Dani power Mumbai to State badminton triumph

LATUR: A year-long honeymoon period of Pune men's team came to an end at the Dayanand College Indoor Stadium on Friday.
After tasting success for the first time in history last year at Parbhani, Pune could not retain their title as Mumbai Suburban rallied back strongly to regain their Senior State Inter-District Badminton title after a long gap of 15 years.
Dark horse of the tournament Mumbai Suburban lived up to their reputation with a sensational performance to win the hearts of the sports lovers.
Mumbai Suburban first sent multiple champions Thane out in the semifinals on Thursday and on Friday they extended their giant-killing run to clinch the title with a 3-2 verdict.
Harsheel Dani and Shlok Ramchandran emerged as the heroes for Mumbai. The teenage duo of Dani and Shlok, both former junior India shuttlers, won their respective singles and later combined together to bag the deciding second doubles when the five-match tie score was 2-2.
The booming rocket smashes of Dani not only surprised their opponents - Sameer Bhagwat and Varun Khanwalkar - but also kept the spectators on the edge of their seats.
It was a high-quality show by Dani and his partner Shlok to help Mumbai pip holders Pune at the post and returned to the top again.
"We were playing doubles together after a long time. That was the reason we were rusty in the first game. However, I knew once Harsheel gets going we will beat them. We took a 5-0 lead in the second game and that's when I told Harsheel that we can do it. It was just a matter of time and Harsheel was all over them," said a jubilant Shlok after the match.
Shlok, a trainee of Pullela Gopichand Academy, did a remarkable job after his team were trailing 1-2 in the final. The six-feet-four inch tall youngster made the light work of Mayank Gole in the third singles to level the scores 2-2.
As he came outside the court after beating Gole, Chief Referee Vivek Saraf asked Shlok how much time he needs for rest as he will have to play the fifth and last match of the tie.
Twenty minutes break is mandatory but Shlok requested for 25 minutes to recharge his batteries. What he and Dani did after that will go down in the history books of Mumbai badminton in the years to come.
The women's final, which was a repeat of last year's title clash, failed to rise to the expectations. Pune eves extended their reign over the trophy with yet another clinical performance.
Former India No. 1 Neha Pandit taught a lesson or two to 17-year-old Nagpur girl Vaishnavi Bhale in the first singles. Pandit moved swiftly on the court and caught Bhale off-guard on several occasions. Bhale, who single-handedly guided Nagpur to final with a splendid performance against Greater Mumbai on Thursday, failed to match her experienced rival on the big stage.
An error-prone game by Bhale made the task even more easier for Pandit, who went on to win 21-8, 21-11.
Down 0-1 in the tie, Nagpur had to level the scores by winning the doubles. Bhale in the company of Bhakti Dahasahasra fought hard against Pune pair of Revati Devasthale and Shruti Mundada.
In a battle of two teenage pairs, Nagpur had the upper hand initially. Bhale and Dahasahasra combined well and put Pune duo on the backfoot. Nagpur lasses had an advantage of four game points but they could not capitalized on them and lost the first game 22-24.
With their morale high after winning the first game narrowly, Mundada and Devasthale had no problem in pocketing the second game at 21-12 to help Pune retain their title.
Results (Finals):
Women's: Pune bt Nagpur 2-0 (Neha Pandit bt Vaishnavi Bhale 21-8, 21-11; Revati Devasthale-Shruti Mundada bt Vaishnavi Bhale-Bhakti Dahasahasra 24-22, 21-12).
Men's: Mumbai Suburban bt Pune 3-2 (Sushrut Karmarkar lost to Subhankar Dey 7-21, 11-21; Harsheel Dani bt Abhishek Kulkarni 21-11, 21-14; Abhindya Sawant-Prasad Shetty lost to Subhankar Dey-Nishad Dravid 13-21, 21-17, 16-21; Shlok Ramchandran bt Mayank Gole 21-11, 21-6; Shlok Ramchandran-Harsheel Dani bt Sameer Bhagwat-Varun Khanwalkar 17-21, 21-5, 21-12).