NSCI ‘A’ team, powered by a brilliant team effort, took down a strong PM Mafatlal team 2-1 to advance to the quarter-finals of the ongoing Motiram Club (for men), Ullal Cup (women) and Kanji Memorial Cup (for juniors) Inter-Club badminton tournament, organised by Badminton Gurukul and hosted by NSCI at their new badminton courts on Friday.
Romit Nagpal (left) and Tarun Mansukhani of NSCI ‘A’ in action during their double match at the ongoing Motiram Club (for men)Inter-Club badminton tournament.
Meet Shah, who has been a saviour for PM Mafatlal, paired up with Aakash Shah to face Yash Golecha and Rishabh Ghia of NSCI in the first tie. The pair gave a solid start to PM Mafatlal as they took the first set with a comfortable 21-16 margin. Yash and Rishabh stepped up, matching their opponents in skill and speed to take the second game 21-17 and level the scores. Yash and Rishabh kept the pressure on in the 3rd game and snatched points in the crucial moments to take the game by 21-18 and the match by 16-21, 21-17, 21-8 and give NSCI a winning start.
In the second doubles match, Nikhil Mansukhani and Romit Nagpal of NSCI started well against the pair of Harsh Gala and Jatan Shah, there was nothing separating the pairs as they fought head to head for the majority of the match before Harsh and Jatan’s smart play helped them sneak a 23-21 victory in the 1st game. Nikhil and Romit learnt from their 1st game loss and made fewer errors to take the 2nd and 3rd game 21-9, 21-14 and NSCI ‘A’ seal the quarterfinal spot. A dejected Meet Shah came back on the court and took down Diyan Jain 21-15, 21-17 to avoid a clean sheet.
In another match, Yash Tiwan’s gutsy performance powered CCI ‘B’ to a 2-0 victory over P.J. Hindu Gymkhana. In the first match, Yash paired up with Jaidev Menon to overpower Vikrant Patwardhan and Mishil Shah of Hindu Gymkhana 21-16, 21-9. Yash, eager to win it for his team, came back for his singles game against Mishil Shah who he took down 21-15, 21-11 in straight games without breaking a sweat to help CCI ‘B’ advance to the quarterfinals.
Results Motiram Cup:
C.C.I. ‘B’ bt P.J. Hindu Gymkhana 2-0 – Yash Tiwan & Jaidev Menon (CCI ‘B’) defeat Vikrant Patwardhan & Mishil Shah (P.J. Hindu Gymkhana) – 21-16, 21-9; Yash Tiwan (CCI ‘B’) defeats Mishil Shah (P.J. Hindu Gymkhana) – 21-15, 21-11; Matunga Gymkhana bt Andheri Sports Complex 2-0 – Siddesh Raut & Viraj Kuvale (Matunga) defeat Sachin Kshatriya & Nimesh Maurya (Andheri) – 21-8, 21-1; Viraj Kuvale (Matunga) defeats Nimesh Maurya (Andheri) – 21-19, 14-21, 21-11; Khar Gymkhana ‘A’ bt Bombay Gymkhana ‘B’ 2-0– Abhindaya Sawant & Purav Suryamurthy (Khar Gym ‘A’) defeat Jatin Agarwal & Gautam Ashra (Bombay Gym ‘B’) 21-12, 21-12; Varun Majumdar (Khar Gym ‘A’) defeat Bimal Singh (Bombay Gym ‘B’) – 21-3. 21-8; NSCI ‘A’ bt P.M. Mafatlal 2-1 Yash Golecha & Rishabh Ghia (NSCI ‘A’) defeat Meet Shah & Aakash Shah (P.M. Mafatlal) – 16-21, 21-17, 21-18 ;Nikhil Mansukhani & Romit Nagpal (NSCI ‘A’) defeat Harsh Gala & Jatan Shah (P.M. Mafatlal) – 21-23, 21-19, 21-14; Meet Shah (P.M. Mafatlal) defeats Diyan Jain (NSCI ‘A’) – 21-15, 21-7 .