Double for Deepak Thukral

Though Souvik matched Deepak initially, in all the three games but he was not consistent in his strokes, which put paid to his aspiration to topple No 1 in the meet.

Deepak took time to settle down and after 6 all, he gained a 5 points lead 13-8 in the first game. And with sizzling shots he made it 17-8. Souvik made efforts to catch up with his speedy rival but missed a forehand drive and his backhand shot at a crucial juncture was at the net, which gave Deepak 1-0 lead 21-10.

In the second game, Deepak, however, took longer than the previous to outplay Souvik 21-17, and tightened his grip over the contest.

Souvik put up a brave fight and levelled the score 4-4, then made it 7 all. Half way through the contest he even led by one point 13-12. But that was all. He then gifted three valuable points to Deepak 13-15, and was never able to recover the lost ground.

On the other hand Deepak picked up the pace and in swift counter-attack got three points in succession and made it 2-0.

In the decider, though both the paddlers were engaged in short rallies. But Souvik was more error prone and lost the game and the title.

Earlier, Deepak also paired up with Sunil Babras to win the doubles title. The duo beat Mukul Boru and S Roy of Reserve Bank of India 22-20, 21-14.

Dena Bank, however, could not make a clean sweep in the meet. Arul Selvi of Indian Bank got the women8217;s crown defeating Rinku Acharya Dena Bank 21-11, 21-12, 21-12, in a lacklustre affair.

Results
Men: Singles: Final: Deepak Thukral DB bt Souvik Dey UBI 21-10, 21-17, 21-12. Semifinal: Deepak Thukral DB bt Rajdeep Sarkar DB 21-16, 21-14, 21-6; Souvik Dey UBI bt Sunil Babras DB 21-12, 16-21, 21-16, 21-17.

Doubles: Final: Deepak Thukral and Sunil Babras DB bt V Vasu and R Babu IB 21-14, 26-24. Semifinal: Deepak Thukral and Sunil Babras DB bt Mukul Boru and S Roy RBI; V Vasu and R Babu IB bt Kamlesh Mehta and R Sarkar DB 21-17, 11-21, 21-15.

Women: Final: Arul Selvi IB bt Rinku Acharya DB 21-111, 21-12, 21-12.