PSPB makes it nine in a row

Top seeds Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) had a double delight as they maintained their supremacy by recording its ninth championship win on the trot in both the men’s and women’s section of the senior national badminton championship that concluded at the Sports Authority of Goa (SAG) complex here on Tuesday.

PSPB outscored Air India to retain Rahimtoola Cup after sealing the title 3-0 in their favour as they later conceded the third single and the second double in the men’s section to give a 3-2 scoreline, while the women’s team reclaimed Chadha Cup after beating Railways 2-1 while giving up the second single.

Sridhar gave good account of himself after having a good fight with Utsav Mishra in a keenly-contested match as he sealed the match 21-19 21-18 in his favour, on the other hand national champion Chetan Anand had to fight it out against Anand Pawar as the former had to save two match points in the decider before prevailing 20-22 21-16 23-21 to give PSPB a edge.

The pair of Rupesh Kumar and V Diju finished off the proceedings with an identical 21-19 and 21-19 scoreline victory over Jishnu Sanyal and Akshay Dewalkar to pocket the title.

Reigning National champion Saina Nehwal guided PSPB to victory in the Chadha Cup when she outclassed her opponent Parssa Naqvi of Railways 21-2 21-15 in the opening encounter.

The doubles team of Jwala Gutta and Shruti Kurien then quelled the challenge of Dhanya Nair and Anita Ohlan 21-11 21-13 to make it 2-0 for the defending champions.

Legendary shuttler, Padmashree awardee, Prakash Padukone witnessed the proceedings of the final match and gave away the prizes to the winners and runners-up.

Meanwhile, PSPB’s Anup Sridhar and Saina Nehwal has been top seeded in the men’s and women’s singles respectively for the 72nd senior national badminton championship open events that gets underway on Wednesday.

RESULTS (FINAL):

Men: PSPB bt Air India 3-2 (Anup Sridhar bt Utsav Mishra 21-19, 21-18; B. Chetan Anand bt Anand Pawar 20-22, 21-16, 23-21), Rupesh Kumar and V. Diju bt Jishnu Sanyal and Akshay Dewalkar 21-19, 21-19, PSPB concedes the 3rd singles and doubles)

Women: PSPB bt Railways 2-1 (Saina Nehwal bt Parssa Naqvi 21-2, 21-15, Jwala Gutta and Shruti Kurien bt Dhanya Nair and Anita Ohlan 21-11, 21-13, PSPB concedes the second singles).