Paddler Koparkar does city proud

The top seed from Pune overcame his third-seeded opponent in seven hard-fought sets to be crowned champion.

Fernandes had the early advantage,winning the first set 11-8 for the lead. However,Koparkar fought back,winning the second 11-6 to level the match before snatching the lead from his opponent with a convincing 11-3 win. However,he lost the fourth set by the same margin as Fernandes raised his game a notch. Koparkar won the fifth set 11-6 to take a 3-2 overall lead,but his opponent clawed his way back yet again,winning the next one 11-9 as the match went right down to the wire.

The final set was a tense encounter,with neither player managing to gain the upper hand. However,Koparkar pierced his opponents defenses in the last point,wrapping up the match with a narrow 12-10 victory to win the title.

Results:
MENS SINGLES:
ANIKET KOPARKAR (PNA) 1ST SEED BT ERIC FERNANDES 3RD SEED 8/11,11/6,11/3,3/11,11/6,9/11,12/10

WOMENS’ SINGLES:
MAMTA PRABHU(THN) 1ST SEED BT SHWETA PARTE (MCD) 14/12,11/3,5/11,11/4,8/11,11/3

YOUTH BOYS SINGLES JAY MODAK(NSK) 3RD SEED

BT DHEERAJ RAI(MSD) 1ST SEED 11/9,14/12,7/11,11/7,11/8

YOUTH GIRLS SINGLES:
SHWETA PARTE(MCD) 1ST SEED BT CHARVI KAWALE(MSD) 3RD SEED

11/6,12/10,12/10,11/7