Sai Praneeth swaggers to V V Natu title

World number 39 Sai Praneeth,playing despite an injured ankle,had a perfect game plan to counter the aggressive Srikanth to clinch the summit clash 21-17,21-18 in 50 minutes.

The women’s singles final between P C Thulasi and National Champion Sayali Gokhale proved to be a damp squib as Gokhale had to retire hurt with an injured sole while trailing 1-5.

That meant that the sizeable crowd at the PE Society’s PDMBA complex seemed to pin their hopes on the men’s finals. Sai Praneeth and Srikanth did not disappoint,dishing out an entertaining match.

With both players knowing the strengths and weaknesses of each other’s game,both resorted to long rallies with an eye for an opening from where they could capitalise. It was Sai Praneeth’s dominance on the net exchanges that ultimately decided the champion.

Mixed day for Ashwini

In the doubles section,Olympian Ashwini Ponnappa had a mixed outing with the world championship bronze medallist winning the women’s doubles crown but had to suffer a setback in the mixed doubles encounter.

Partnering Pradnya Gadre,Ashwini got the better of third seeds Aparna Balan and N Sikki Reddy 21-9,13-21,21-17 in the women’s doubles.

However,in the mixed doubles,the combination of Akshay Dewalkar and Pradnya came back from a game down to upset Ashwini and K Tarun 9-21,21-18,21-14.

The men’s doubles crown went to Manu Atri and Sumeeth Reddy. The duo defeated K Tarun and Arun Vishnu 21-12,21-14 in the title clash.