PANJIM: Govind Navelkar and Anjana Kumari claimed men’s and women’s singles titles while Tejan Fallary won double crowns at the State Badminton Championships held on Sunday. The championships were organised by Ponda Badminton Club in collaboration with Goa Badminton Association, Directorate of Sports and Youth Affairs and Sports Authority Goa, at Sports Complex, Ponda.
The men’s singles final was evenly poised at one set a piece but Parteek Mahajan ran out of steam in the deciding set to concede the match to Goa’s veteran warhorse Govind Navelkar. Govind won 21-16, 21-23, 6-5 (conceded).
In women’s singles, Anjana Kumari overcame stiff resistance from Anar Singbal before winning 21-18, 21-16.
In men’s doubles, it was a smooth ride for top seeds Tejan Fallary and Parteek Mahajan who outplayed their rivals Floyd Araujo / Pankaj Naik , winning 21-14, 21-13. Tejan along with Emilia Silveira won their third consecutive mixed doubles title this season with an emphatic 21-16, 21-15 win over Floyd Araujo / Anar Singbal.
The veterans men’s 45+ category was expected to be a close fight between two tough pairs but Ayoob CK and Pradeep Prabhu emerged winners, romping home to a comfortable 21-12, 21-14 win over bt Vaman Fallary and Wilson D’ Souza.
The men’s 55+ doubles was more evenly fought with top seeds TA. Sawant and Zenin Almeida putting it across local favourites Pradeep Dhond and VG Prabhu to win 21-19, 21-17.
Ratish Pawar, Director Circle Logistics, Narahar Thakur GBA president, Sandeep Heble secretary and Anil Painguinkar gave away the prizes to the winners and runners-up in the presence of other dignitaries.
