E-Paper
Pune’s Kadam eases into semis of state selection badminton tournament
Kadam, who trains at the Nikhil Kanetkar Badminton Academy, Balewadi, did not seem tensed at any point in the game. His biggest strength in the game was his speed and agility.
City boy Yashraj Kadam eased into the semi-finals of the Yonex Sunrise Maharashtra under-13 and under-10, state selection tournament, after straight-game victories against his opponent, Shashwat Kumar, in the boys under-13 quarter-final held at the Modern Sports Complex, Shivajinagar, on Saturday.
Kadam, who trains at the Nikhil Kanetkar Badminton Academy, Balewadi, did not seem tensed at any point in the game. His biggest strength in the game was his speed and agility. Barring a few miscued smashes, Kadam aced the game by capitalising on his opponent’s unforced errors.
The top seed got off to a strong start in the first game, as he boasted himself to a four-point lead. During the first game interval, Kadam led by five points. The youngster did not let the tempo drop and went on to win the first game by 21-12.
Just like the first game, Kadam managed to establish an early three-point lead. The youngster was able to read his opponent well, and possessed the agility to be at the correct spot at the correct time. A couple of complacent strikes saw Kumar catch-up and reduce the deficit to one point.
Kadam dived and struck a beautiful shot over the net and into the opponent’s half to earn a valuable point, but ended up hurting himself. The teenager seemed to be in obvious discomfort as he was trying to massage his chest. After a quick check by his coach, the game continued.
The injury scare did not bother Kadam as he extended his advantage to five-points, and he lead 11-6 at the interval. Kadam would extend this advantage till the end as he won the final game and the match 21-12, 21-11.
In the boys under-13 quarter-finals, Sarvesh Yadav, Aditya Tripathi, and Aaditya Gadge advanced to the semi-final stages of the tournament. Aaditya Gadge eliminated second seed Aaryaveer Deshmukh, in the only match of the day which went to three games.
In the girls under-13 quarter-finals, all the matches ended in straight games. Taarini Suri eased past Nirmitee Gajbhiye to join top seed Raksha Kandasamy, second seed Bhatoye Naishaa and Shravani Walekar in the semi-finals. The semi-finals will take place on Sunday.
QUOTES:
Yashraj Kadam (boys singles u-13 semi-finalist): “I have to work on my pace. I am fast, but I need to work on altering my pace and switching between slow and fast. Apart from that, I’m satisfied with the result and looking forward to the next stage.”
Taarini Suri (girls singles u-13 semi-finalist): “I won the match in straight games, but I’m still not satisfied with myself. I believe I can work hard and improve in all aspects of my game, but I’m happy to reach the semis.”
RESULTS:
Quarterfinals:
Boys singles (u-13):
1-Yashraj Kadam bt Shashwat Kumar 21-12, 21-11
Sarvesh Yadav bt Kayaan Majithia 21-10, 21-12
Aditya Tripathi bt Vedant Siddheshware 21-18, 21-17
Aaditya Gadge bt 2-Aaryaveer Deshmukh 21-18, 9-21, 21-19
Girls singles (u-13):
1-Raksha Kandasamy bt Isha Patil 21-18, 21-19
Shravani Walekar bt Krisha Soni 21-10, 21-19
Taarini Suri bt Nirmitee Gajbhiye 21-14, 21-15
2-Bhatoye Naishaa bt Ananya Agrawal 21-12, 21-16
