CHANDIGARH, Nov 30: Mohammad Saleem of Punjab State Electricity Board and Ram Lakhan also of PSEB set up a title clash in the singles event of the 26th All-India Inter-State Electricity Boards badminton tournament being played at Sector 42 Sports Complex. Defending champion Mohammad Saleem made short work of Surinder of Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam 15-2, 15-11 while on the adjacent court his team-mate and last year's runner-up Ram Lakhan outduelled Varinder (HVPN) 15-7, 15-11.Top-seed M Saleem played true to his reputation in the semifinal today. He kept his composure when the going got tough to outplay his rival Surinder in an encounter which lasted for 35 minutes.On the other hand unseeded Surinder wilted under pressure to give way to his more speedy opponent, whose court crafts were a treat to watch in the match today.The Punjab shuttler took just over 10 minutes to win the first game 15-2. However, in the second, Surinder, played an attacking game and raced to a 5-0 lead but was not able to sustain the tempo and his body-language told the whole story. Unlike Surinder, who was error-prone under pressure, Saleem's coolness was evident from the fact that he not only levelled the score 5-5, but also moved ahead 10-9. Then on it was Saleem all over the court. He gained three successive points and finished the game with a drop shot 15-11, to enter the final.In the second semifinal, Ram Lakhan's experience enabled him to prevail over his rival Varinder, who gave the eventual winner a run for his money in the second game.However, Varinder and Surinder (HVPN) made it into the doubles final without break into a sweat as they got a walkover from Raghav Bhosle and Vijay Nair (BSES) They will face Ram Lakhan and Chanderdeep (PSEB) who defeated Sridhar and PR Rao (AP) 15-5, 15-7.ResultsSingles (quarter-finals): Ram Lakhan (Pb) bt Sanjay Pandey (MP) 15-13, 15-1; Varinder (Hry) bt Vijay Nair (RSCS) 15-7, 17-2; Mohmad Saleem (Pb) walkover from N Subramaniam (MP); Surinder (Haryana) walkover from NV Nathan (MP).Semifinal: M Saleem (PSEB) bt Surinder (HVPN) 15-2, 15-11; Ram Lakhan (PSEB) bt Varinder (HVPN) 15-7, 15-11.Doubles: Surinder and Virender (Hry) bt Navdeep and Mohmad Saleem (Pb) 6-15, 15-9, 15-13; Sridhar an Chanderdeep (Pb) walkover from Raghuvanshi Pathak (MSEB); Raghav Bhosle and Vijay Nair (BSES) bt Niranjan and Deshpande (MSRB) 15-5, 15-3.
