Twin titles for Malvika in West Zone Junior Badminton

NAGPUR: Malvika Bansod signed off 2015 badminton season in style with an excellent performance in the PNB MetLife West Zone Junior Badminton Championships which concluded at Goregaon Sports Club in Mumbai on Saturday.
The promising city shuttler, currently ranked No. 2 in the country in the U-15 girls singles, sizzled as she toppled top seeded Kalpita Sawant of Mumbai 10-21, 21-18, 21-16 in a nail-biting U-17 girls singles final.
However, the hard-working left-hander was distinctly lucky against graceful stroke player Aarya Deshpande from Satara in the girls U-15 final. It was the toughest tie of the day with fortunes swayed from time to time before Malvika prevailed at 18-21, 21-18, 22-20. Aarya, ranked India No.7 in the U-13 age group, did have the consolation of winning the U-13 crown.
Another Nagpur shuttler to shine in Mumbai was Om Gavandi. In the U-9 boys singles, Om dethroned Suchir Ravva of Mumbai 21-18, 21-17 to capture the first big title.
The four-day tournament was organized by Sara Foundation and held under the auspices of Maharashtra Badminton Association and Badminton Association of India.
RESULTS (Finals)
Girls U-17 singles: Malvika Bansod (NGP) bt 1-Kalpita Sawant (Mum) 10-21, 21-18, 21-16. Boys U-17 singles: 1-Deep Rambhia (Mum) bt Digvijaysinh Kushwaha (Vadodra) 21-13, 21-15. Girls U-15 singles: 1-Malvika Bansod (NGP) bt 2-Aarya Deshpande (Satara) 18-21, 21-18, 22-20. Boys U-15 singles: 3-Bhavin Karamchandani bt Ishan Bhatnagar (Raipur) 8-21, 24-22, 21-15. Girls U-13 singles: 1-Aarya Deshpande (Satara) bt 2-Tasnim Mir (Mum) 21-13, 20-22, 21-16. Boys U-13 singles: 1-Tanishaq Saxena (Mum) bt Ameya Khond (Mum) 21-15, 21-15. Girls U-11 singles: Tasnim Mir (Mum) bt Tara Shah (Pune) 21-16, 21-10. Boys U-11 singles: 1-Prajjwal Sonawane (Mum) bt Vishanathan Parihar (Indore) 21-9, 21-16. Girls U-9 singles: 1-Taaruni Suri (Mum) bt Shrawani Walekar (Nashik) 21-9, 21-10. Boys U-9 singles: Om Gavandi (Nagpur) bt Suchir Ravva (Mum) 21-18, 21-17.