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Badminton
By Our Special Correspondent
Aparna Popat and P Gopi Chand who won won the PSCB inter-unit badminton tournament in Bangalore on Friday with their trophies.
The all IOC men's final which lasted around 45 minutes, had its share of good rallies, but there was no denying the fact that was winning them. Gopi Chand was dominant as he attacked with zest against the defence specialist, Abhinn Shyam Gupta, against whom he had always been comfortable in the past. Abhinn's strength had been his retrievals and he can throw back anything that comes his way at his own pace. In this encounter, it was Gopi Chand who set the pace and whenever Abhinn looked menacing, Gopi Chand was able to create the right openings to unleash his power packed half smashes and searing flicks. Abhinn came up with some great counters but the lacked the momentum to keep Gopi Chand in check. Gopi Chand, after a close initial tussle, swept to a 9-2 lead in the first game and gap proved too big to bridge for Abhinn. In the second game, Gopi Chand cut the pace but Abhinn, lost the openings with quite a few unforced errors. Gopi Chand stretched 6-1 lead to an imposing 10-2 advantage and then there was simply no looking back as he closed the game and match with two scorching smashes. ``I am happy with the win and I look forward to the Malaysian Open next week, which is being played on the 15-point format. I hope to do well there,'' said Gopi Chand. Aparna Popat put her victory in a candid and right perspective, when she said: ``She (Meenakshi) played badly.'' In a tie, which was full of unforced errors and negative points, Aparna was able to strike her rhythm and raise her game a few notches above the average to script a quick-fire win in about 20 minutes. For the India No.2 Meenakshi, it was a disappointing display. She kept tossing out and put a lot of her returns over the lines, trying to wrest control by pushing the pace. It suited Aparna just fine and the reigning champion spun a quick and sticky web around her rival and extended her lease on the title for yet another year. The ONGC pair of Chetan Anand and Thomas Kurian won the men's doubles title, while Shruti urian and Jwala Gutta of BPCL took the women's honours. Mr. Naresh Narang, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, presided and gave away the prizes. The results (all finals): Men's singles: P. Gopi Chand (IOC) bt Abhinn Shyam Gupta (IOC) 15-5, 15-4. Doubles: Chetan Anand & Thomas Kurian (ONGC) bt Ajit Wijetilak & Vijay Lancy (BPCL) 17-14, 15-9. Women's singles: Aparna Popat (IOC) bt B. R. Meenakshi (IOC) 11-2, 11-5. Doubles: G. Jwala & Shruti Kurien (BPCL) bt P. V. V. Lakshmi (BPCL) & CH. Deepthi (OIL) 11-0, 11-7. Veteran's singles: Pradeep Chalia (IOC) bt S. K. Patel (ONGC) 15-8, 15-9. Doubles: Pradeep Chalia & K. Kansal (IOC) bt D. K. Katuria & S. K. Patel (ONGC) 15-10, 15-11.
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