E-Paper
State Selection Badminton: Rohan to face Yash in summit clash; Tara meets Riya
Riya Kunjir was no match as the 14-year-old second seed Tara eased past her in straight games 21-7, 21-12
Pune Tara Shah advanced to the final of the Maharashtra Junior U-19 State Selection Badminton Tournament 2019 played at the Modern Sports Complex on Thursday. Riya Kunjir was no match as the 14-year-old second seed eased past her in straight games 21-7, 21-12.
Tara looked composed from the beginning and settled into the game quicker than her counterpart who struggled with her movement and smashes.Many of Riya’s smashes failed to land inside the line, gifting Tara crucial points. Tara played a simple game and managed to place her shots well, not gifting her opponent a lot of easy points.
Tara did not allow her opponent to settle in the second game as well. She maintained a deficit of 4-5 points with Riya failing to lead even once. Meanwhile, the boys’ singles saw an upset as second seed Rahoul Kanne bowed out of the tournament against Yash Shah in one of the most enthralling matches of the day.
Initially, the game was dominated by Rahoul as he placed his smashes just right. On the contrary, Yash struggled to capitalise his shots and placed them well beyond the line. Rahoul took full advantage of the circumstances and won the first game.
Yash managed to settled and build a momentum in the second game as he started off with a 4-0 lead. He kept on piling the pressure on Rahoul as the second seed tried to fight his way back into the game.
Rahoul did manage to level the points 14-14 in the second game, but Yash kept his cool and only allowed his opponent one more point as he won the second game 21-15 to restore parity.
The third game saw some amazing rallies as both players were a tad nervy, but neither of them backed down. Rahoul established an early 5-point lead as he lead 8-3. During the third game, Rahoul looked to be in some discomfort and was seen walking groggily on court, trying to relax his ankle.
Just when it seemed like the game was slipping away from Yash, he fought back, took his chances and took charge of the game midway through. From 8-3 down, Yash went up 18-16 as Rahoul started to look a little shaky.
Yash finished the game with a powerful smash to pip Rahoul and enter the final of the tournament.
Riya, Rohan advance to the finals
In the other boys singles semi-final, Rohan Thool earned a narrow win over Harshal Jadhav. The top seed emerged victorious in a close match which ended 21-18, 22-20 in favour of Rohan.
Rohan will now face Yash, who dumped second-seed Rahoul out of the tournament in the other semi-final.
Girls singles top-seed Riya Habbu fought off another scare as she went down in the first game to Hrissha Dubey, only to recover and win the next two games and enter the final. Habbu, who was seen struggling with a minor injury on her right foot after the match, will face the promising second seed Tara Shah in the final. Harshal Jadhav and Riya Kunjir, who faced defeats in their respective singles category, eased into the mixed doubles’ final after beating Mandar Ambulkar and Smital Mandlik in straight games. Jadhav and Kunjir will face the team of Sasmit Patel and Tarah Shah, who also advanced to the final after beating the top-seeded team of Yash Shah and Tanishka Deshpande.
Girls’ singles finalist Tara Shah said, “I’m still U-15 and to win in this age group is difficult, but I think I played well. All my strokes and angles were correct and I just want to continue playing with the same level of intensity.”
Rohan said, ”This was the toughest match I’ve played in this tournament. Harshal (Jadhav) knew that I was a fast player, so he played a defensive game. But I kept my patience, he committed some mistakes and I was lucky to win.”
Yash said, “I’ve played with him (Rahoul Kanne) since 3-4 years. I struggled in the first game. In the second and third game my coaches pumped me up and helped me win this tough match.”
Girls’ singles finalist Riya said, “Her (Hrissha Dubey) game was better than mine, but her unforced errors were more, and I think that helped me win the second game. I was confident in the final game and managed to pull off the comeback.”
Results
Boys singles semi-final
Rohan Thool bt Harshal Jadhav 21-18, 22-20
Yash Shah bt 2-Rahoul Kanne 18-21, 21-15, 21-19
Girls singles semi-final
Riya Habbu bt Hrissha Dubey 20-22, 21-9, 21-8
Tara Shah bt Riya Kunjir 21-11, 21-13