Gurusaidutt, Neha clinch titles

 Indian international RMV Gurusaidutt, representing Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB), rallied to beat his fellow team-mate, fourth seed, B Sai Praneeth to clinch the men singles title in the All India Senior Ranking Badminton Tournament here on Saturday. Gurusaidutt won the tie 18-21, 21-17, 21-16.

In the women’s singles final, Maharashtra’s Neha Pandit proved too good for her Air India opponent Reshma Karthik as the 28-year-old recorded a 21-17, 21-19 win to win the title.

Coming on the back of an exhausting semifinal tie, where Gurusaidutt beat Air India’s Anand Pawar 21-9, 16-21, 21-12, the world number 37 started the game on a defensive note. Sensing an opportunity, his opponent tried to impose himself with his quick reflexes and deception as Praneeth raced to an 11-8 lead at the interval.
“It was a tough game,” said Gurusaidutt later.“He was on the attack from the word go. And when I tried to counter his force with my attack, it just got worse. I had to stay back and get into my rhythm before opening up my attack.”

Though Gurusaidutt made attempts of a comeback with two delightful smashes that got the crowd cheering, the 22-year-old Praneeth made sure that he kept the momentum going as he opened up a five-point lead at 19-14 before winning the opening game 21-18.

Down by a game, Gurusaidutt made amends to his approach as he engaged his academy mate in long rallies, forcing him to commit mistakes. “The second game needed a change in my approach. I tried to engage Sai (Praneeth) in rallies and waited for him to make mistakes. And it paid off,” admitted the product of the Gopichand Badminton Academy.
The change in approach worked as Gurusaidutt went on to clinch the second game 21-17, forcing the tie into the decider. The third game was no different as Gurusaidutt continued his fine run to clinch the game and the tie 21-16.

The women’s singles saw a relatively easier contest as Maharashtra’s Neha put her swift court movements and powerful strokes to full use to win the title.

In the other final ties of the day, the top-seeded pair of Meghana J and Maneesha K from Telengana beat Dhanya Nair and Mohita Sahdev 21-9, 21-11 to win the women’s double title, while fourth seed pair of Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas got the better of Arun George and Nanda Gopal 21-19, 13-21, 21-12 to wear the men’s doubles crown.

In the mixed doubles, the top-seeded pair of Sanyam Shukla and Maneesha K beat Shlok Ramchandran and Meghana J 19-21, 21-16, 21-17 to lift the title.


Results: Men: Singles: Final: Gurusaidutt RMV (PSPB) bt Sai Praneeth B (PSPB) 18-21, 21-17, 21-16.
Doubles: Final: Rupesh Kumar (PSPB)/ Sanave Thomas (Ker) bt Arun George (Ker)/ Nanda Gopal (AAI) 21-19, 13-21, 21-12.

Women: Singles: Final: Neha Pandit (Mah) bt Reshma Karthik (AI) 21-17, 21-19.
Semifinals: Reshma Karthik (AI) bt Shikha Gautam (Ktk) 21-18, 21-19; Neha Pandit (Mah) bt Shriyanshi Pardeshi (AI) 21-16, 21-13.

Doubles: Final: Meghana J/ Maneesha K (TS) bt Dhanya Nair (Rlys)/ Mohita Sahdev (AAI) 21-9, 21-11.

Mixed Doubles: Final: Sanyam Shukla (AI)/ Maneesha K (TS) bt Shlok Ramchandran (AI)/ Meghana J (TS) 19-21, 21-16, 21-17.