Abhishek Kulkarni continued with his fine run of form to storm into final of the men’s singles semi-finals event of the 2nd Maharashtra Senior State Selection Badminton Tournament 2016. Kulkarni, who had defeated second seed Nigel D’Sa in the last eight round, easily got past Vineet Kamble in straight games at 21-13, 21-8 in a semi-final match played at the Goregaon Sports Club badminton hall on Saturday.
In the summit clash, Kulkarni will face the challenge from Arijeet Bose who also had an easy time in putting it across Viplav Kuvale 21-13, 21-19 in the second semi-final.
Arjeet Bose
Meanwhile, Shruti Mundada and Neha Pandit will clash for the women’s singles crown. In semi-final encounters, Mundada tamed Mekhla Ambekar by coasting to a 21-8, 21-6 victory, while Pandit brushed aside the challenge from Revathi Devastahle winning via the short route at 21-13, 21-3.
In men’s doubles semi-final matches, Eshan Naqvi and Varun Khanwalker showed great fighting spirit as they from behind to overcome Nihar Kelkar and Vinayak Dandavate 16-21, 21-18, 21-14. In contrast, Abhindya Sawant and Prasad Shetty had things much their own way as they cruised past Bishal Das and Prashant Bahatre winning at 21-9, 21-16 to advance to the final.
Results – Men’s singles (semi-finals):* Arijeet Bose bt Viplav Kuvale 21-13, 21-19; Abhishek Kulkarni bt Vineet Kamble 21-13, 21-8.
Women’s singles (semi-finals):* Shruti Mundada bt Mekhla Ambekar 21-8, 21-6; Neha Pandit bt Revathi Devastahle 21-13, 21-3.
Men’s doubles (semi-finals): Abhindya Sawant/Prasad Shetty bt Bishal Das/Prashant Bahatre 21-9, 21-16; Eshan Naqvi/Varun Khanwalker bt Nihar Kelkar/Vinayak Dandavate 16-21, 21-18, 21-14.
Women’s doubles: Mansi Gadgil/Mrunmayi Saoji bt Aishwarya Narayanmoorthy/Akshaya Warang 21-16, 6-21, 21-12; Bhagirathi Sharma Bande/ Ishani Savant bt Divya Hegde/Vedika Karle 21-9, 21-11.
Mixed doubles (semi-finals):* Satyajeet Jagdhane/Riya Arolkar bt Eshan Naqvi/Aishwarya Narayanmoorthy 21-16, 21-17; Varun Khanwalker/Shruti Mundada bt Viplav Kuvale/Akshaya Warang 21-16, 21-12.