Team Herald
PANJIM: Rudra Dukle won triple crowns while Arjun Fallary, Lydia Barreto and Arshia Gautam won double crowns each, at the State Sub Junior Badminton Championship, organised by Shuttlers Club in collaboration with Goa Badminton Association and the Sports Authority of Goa, at Indoor Stadium, Campal, Panjim.
The U-15 boys singles final was expected to be a close fight but Arjun Fallary was in sparkling form to turn things around. In the first set, Arjun who had lost to Shourya Joshi in a previous tournament in Mapusa was down 18-20 to the same opponent in the first set but held his nerves to win 22-20.
In the second set, it was Arjun all the way as he raced to a commanding lead with an array of strokes and a clinical game giving Shourya no chance of a comeback. He won 22-20, 21-15.
Lydia Barreto won her U-15 girls final without having to break a sweat, with her opponent Aahana Nayak conceding the match due to injury. Rudra Dukle and Arshia Gautam, the top seeds in U-13 girls and boys categories, won their titles with comfortable ease while the other results too went on expected lines with top contenders emerging victorious.
Rhea Kanji, Arjun Anand and Parth Kantak emerged promising players of the tournament.
Siddharth Kunkolienker, Chairman (EDC), Richard D’Souza (Ex Principal Conservator of Forests), Ashok Menon (Director of Fire and Emergency Services), Anura Prabhu Desai, India’s top ranked shuttler and GBA Officials Sandeep Heble and Sandeep Khandeparkar graced the prize distribution occasion.
Shuttlers Club and Goa Badminton Association felicitated Anura Prabhu Desai during the occasion for attaining top India ranking in singles as well as in doubles.
