Thakur rules at Thane

Thakur’s brilliant attacking style was seen only late in the match when he was marching towards victory. But his better experience helped him win the first and third games. George, who had knocked second seed Rohit Choudhary in the pre-quarters, Jayant Udeshi in the quarter-finals and fifth seed Gandeep Bhiwandkar on his way to the final, fought withgreat determination to win the second game.

That was about all he could do as Thakur blossomed late in the game to show some brilliant counter-attacking shots to quell the challenge of the 19-year-old MMK College student playing his first final.

Leena’s defence clearly had Shalmali on the run. Shalmali, who stunned top seed Mamta Prabhu in the semi-finals, had to win the battle on patience. She showed that in good measure while winning the third game after wrapping the first and losing the second. Shalmali went on a brilliant run that converted a 11-12 deficit into a 21-12 victory.

Leena, who never used her top-spin, wore her opponent down, frustrating her into committing mistakes. She showed better nerves at recovering twice from a game deficit to clinch the title.

The boys’ final, where the top two seeds figured, was easily the best. Fernandes used his backhand to good measure and attacked with vigour to claim the first game. What tilted the game in Mahagaonkar’s favour was his defence, particularlyaway from the table.

It was a tightly contested match with each game going to the wire. One brilliant streak from Mahagaonkar, when down 12-14 in the fourth game, was the turning point. He began stroking more fluently, and conceded only four points before wrapping the title.

The girls’ final was a let-down. Mamata knew exactly what to expect of her opponent, and expectedly reined in Jahnavi’s free-flowing style. Jahnavi did not help her own cause, as she failed to switch tactics, and lost tamely.

RESULTS

Men’s final: 1-Bhushan Thakur bt George Joseph 21-16 18-21 21-18 21-14;

Semis: Thakur bt Sanjeev Mehra 21-14 21-6 21-13; Joseph bt 5-Ganadeep Bhiwandkar 17-21 21-17 21-12 21-17

Junior boys’ final: 1-Aditya Mahagaonkar bt 2-Eric Fernandes 16-21 21-18 21-18 21-18;

Semis: Eric bt 3-Swapnil Namjoshi 19-21 22-20 21-19 21-14; Aditya bt 4-Mitesh Puranik 21-6 16-21 21-15 21-17.

Women’s final: 7-Leena Medhekar bt Shalmali Inamdar 17-21 21-18 12-21 21-1921-13;

Semis: Shalmali bt 1-Mamta Prabhu 19-21 17-21 21-18 21-17 22-20; Leena bt 2-Radhika Ghatnekar 13-21 21-18 21-15 21-16.

Junior girls’ final: 2-Mamta Prabhu bt 3-Jahnavi Deshpande 21-12 21-16 21-16;

Semis: Jahnavi bt 7-Chandani Ashar 21-18 21-18 16-21 22-20; Mamta bt 4-Deepali Zaveri 23-21 14-21 21-13 21-17