Mumbai: Goregaon Sports Club emerged the champion team in the 31st G D Birla Memorial Masters Inter-Club Badminton Tournament defeating host club Bombay Gymkhana A 2-1 in the Elite Cup Team Championship final.
Aparna Popat, Mangirish Palekar and Manoj Nachanekar had a rewarding tournament and walked away with double titles in this premier Inter-Club Tournament, promoted by Badminton Gurukul.
Sanjeev Mahajan and Bhagwan S gave GSC a winning start, defeating Gautam Laud and Faisal Sidique 21-18, 14-21, 21-19 in a tough three-setter. However, Shailesh Daga and Ayaz Bilawala brought hosts Bombay Gym A on level terms, accounting for Leroy D'Sa and Hemant Duggal 21-14, 21-18. It was then left to Rajesh Bhanushali and Abhishek Sharma, who clinched the title for GSC with a 21-13, 21-19 win over Aparna Popat and Bimaldeep Singh.
Nachanekar, the top seeded professional, defeated second seed Chetan Bandarkar 22-20, 21-19 for the singles title and then partnered with Rahul Bhuvad to win the doubles final. Palekar partnered with Vikrant Patwardhan to win the men's doubles 45 title with a 21-18, 21-17 win over Gautam Laud and Sandeep Mohan. Palekar also won the 85+ doubles title, along with Deepak Jaitley, defeating Nigel D'Sa and Rohan Radhakrishna 21-15, 21-10.
BRIEF SCORE:
TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP - ELITE CUP - Final
Goregaon Sports Club beat Bombay Gymkhana A 2-1
MD 45-Final
Mangirish Palekar [1]/Vikrant Patwardhan beat Gautam Laud/Sandeep Mohan 21-18, 21-17
PROFESSIONAL SINGLES – Final
Manoj Nachanekar [1] beat Chetan Bandarkar [2] 22-20, 21-9
PROFESSIONAL DOUBLES – Final
Manoj Nachanekar [1]/Rahul Bhuvad beat Kalpesh Padekar/Sanjay Golbare 21-13, 21-18
MD 85+ - Final
Deepak Jaitly [1]/Mangirish Palekar beat Nigel D'Sa/Rohan Radhakrishnan 21-15, 21-10
MS 45 – Final
Sachin Bharati beat Rajan Samant [1] 21-13, 22-20
XD 80+ - Final
Shailesh Daga [1]/Aparna Popat beat Sandeep Mohan/Sonal Jagdale More 21-14, 21-15
WD 75+ - Final
Aparna Popat [1]/Naheed Divecha beat Palkan Dave [2]/Sonal More 22-20, 21-13
TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP - PLATE CUP – Final
Mcf A beat Wcg A 2-0