Doves take MBL title

Daring Doves clinched the Maharashtra Badminton League title with a 3-1 win over Inspiring Eagles in the final tie at the PDMBA Sports Complex on Sunday. Eshan Naqvi,who put Doves on the road to victory with a straight-games win over Jishnu Sanyal in the opening men’s singles rubber,was adjudged player of the tournament.

Doves took the brave move of pitting Thane boy Naqvi against Sanyal,the most expensive men’s player in the tournament. It paid off as Naqvi prevailed in two closely fought games,winning 21-19,21-19.

Off to a perfect start,Doves widened their advantage in the women’s singles,where Sanyogita Ghorpade defeated Mudra Dahinje 21-13,19-21,21-14. Eagles came back by winning the men’s doubles,where Aditya Pandya and Abhishek Kulkarni defeated Prashant Bahatre and Jayendra Dhole – 21-18,18-21,21-18. Subhankar Dey sealed the tie for Doves,beating Siddharth Thakur 21-10,21-8 in the second men’s singles match.

Doves pocketed Rs 2.25 lakh for winning the tournament,while runners-up Eagles took home Rs 1.75 lakh.