Saurabh wins a cracker final

Thulasi P C and top men’s seed Saurabh Varma (Petroleum) emerged victorious in the National Sports Club of India (NSCI) All India Senior Ranking Badminton Tournament on Wednesday. In the women’s singles final played on the air-conditioned badminton courts of NSCI,Kerala’s Thulasi defeated Air India’s Sayali Gokhale 21-14,21-14. Meanwhile Saurabh Varma rallied back from the brink to overcome Sai Praneeth 19-21,25-23,21-11 in a three-game thriller.

Varma and Sai Praneeth then set the NSCI badminton centre court on fire thereafter. The final aptly pitting the two top seeds against each other was a see-saw battle with each player refusing to hand even a quarter to their opponent.

It was Sai Praneeth who drew first blood taking the first game with a narrow 21-19 margin. The fortunes ebbed and flowed around them in the second game with Varma staging a comeback,leveling the scores by clinching the game 25-23. He carried the momentum into the deciding game,and took it rather comfortably as the 21-11 score-line would prove.

The Air-India pair of Akshay Dewalkar and Pradnya Gadre,meanwhile,beat the the top-seeded pairing of Petroleum’s Pranav Chopra and Prajakta Sawant 21-17,11-21,22-20 to lift the mixed-doubles title.