Team Herald
MAPUSA: Goa’s Sandhya Melasheemi won double gold and one silver while Sandip Kanji, Amit Kakkar and Vishal Vernekar won bronze medals each, at the Yonex-Sunrise All India Masters Ranking Badminton Tournament, organised by Goa Badminton Association under the aegis of Badminton Association of India at multipurpose stadium, Peddem, on Tuesday.
Sandhya, a former state champion, registered an emphatic 21-9, 21-13 win over Shantala Kampapurmath to clinch the women’s singles 35+ title.
It was double delight for Sandhya as she along with her partner Radhika Ingalhalikar from Maharashtra who had earlier knocked out top seeds Yupu Boni and Shantala Kampapurmath upset the number two seeded pairing of Chinna Swamy Manjula Bangalore Sunitha Lavte from Andhra Pradesh 21-9, 21-16 to emerge women’s 35+ doubles champions.
In the mixed doubles 35+ category, Sandhya and her partner Varun Sharma from Chandigarh narrowly lost the finals to Maharashtra’s Sameer Bhagwat and Deanne Rodrigues 15-21, 24-22, 11-21 to settle for silver.
In the men’s doubles 45+, Amit Kakkar and Vishal Vernekar put up a creditable performance to win bronze. In the semis, they went down fighting to Sameer Bhagwat and Ajit B. Umrani 14-21, 16-21.
In the men’s singles 45+, Sandip Kanji displayed great fighting spirit to reach the semis and secure a bronze medal finish.
In the semis, the former state champion from Goa went down with a 15-21, 11-21 score line to top seed and event winner Ajay Salvi. The categories from 35+ to 50+ concluded on August 27 while the categories from 55+ to 75+ will continue till August 30.
Special medals were presented to other Goan players who excelled or secured a quarter-finals finish, namely Felix Dias and Judy Braganza (Mixed Doubles 50+ ), Wilfred Jacques (Men’s doubles 45+), Sandip Kanji / Kamlesh Kanji (Men’s Doubles 40+), Kishore Raghubans and Mahesh Pauskar (Men’s Doubles 45+), Marina Albuquerque (Women’s singles, Doubles and Mixed Doubles 50+), Wilson D’ Souza (Mixed doubles 50+), and Avita Bandodkar (Women’s singles & Doubles 50+).
V.M. Prabhudesai, SAG Executive Director, Narahar Thakur, President, GBA, Sandeep Heble (Secretary, GBA), BAI Observer V. Arunachallam, Balbir Singh Jamwal (Secretary, J & K, and GBA Treasurer Sarfraz Sheikh graced the closing function.
