Andheri Sports Club witnessed a special badminton event on the weekend of 28th and 29th October, 2023. Over 200 of the district’s top players descended on their badminton courts to vie for top honours at the Podium Sports Mumbai Suburban District Open 2023 Badminton Tournament.
Ms Deepti Gandhi of Muskan Foundation receiving Rs, 25000 cheque from Ms. Roopali Tike Dubey
The tournament that was held in 9 exciting categories including Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles in the Open Category and 80+, 90+, 100+ and 75 Women’s events in the Masters Combined Age categories.
Triple crown winner Kashika Mahajan accepting the trophy from Ms. Ami Ghia
The matches between the players, many of them state and national champions were well fought but what stood out was the cause – Rs. 25000/- was donated by event head and founder of Podium Sports Ms. Roopali Tike-Dubey to Ms, Deepti Gandhi, the founder and Managing Trustee of Muskan Foundation for people with multiple disabilities.
Ms. Roopali said, “Competitive badminton is played by people with exceptional fitness, so it is our onus to contribute to help people who are physically disabled for no fault of theirs. Deepti has been doing exceptional work in the field and it is the privileges of Podium Sports to help them with a small donation. We have gone out of pocket to give best in class prize money and wonderful custom designed 16″ trophies to winners and gifts like 50th year commemorative tee shirts, mementoes and goody bags to maximum people.”
Gracing the closing ceremony as guests was one of the best badminton internationals produced by India, Ms. Ami Ghia Shah, Trustee of Jamnabai School and avid shuttler, Mr. Sujay Jairaj, Film maker Salim Diwan, Actresses Farnaz Shetty and Chritine Zedek, Mr. Pravin Vedamuthu of PV Tutorials, and of course Ms. Deepti Gandhi of Muskan Foundation.
Ms. Gandhi said, “We are thankful to Podium Sports for its largesse. In India, children with Multiple Disabilities & Vision Impairment (MDVI) face a life of isolation, stigma and exclusion. India’s existing healthcare and education systems cannot accommodate the unique needs of children with MDVI, therefore they live a life of unfulfilled potential.”
Deanne Rodrigues, a multiple national championship winner who has regularly represented India in the Master’s World Championship had the following to say about the tournament, “In the beginning, Palkan and I were a bit skeptical about the tournament as there has been no Mumbai Suburban district association functioning for the last five years. But Podium Sports surely exceeded all expectations. Good prize money, beautiful trophies and excellent organisation. All in all, a weekend well spent and I am looking forward to the next by Podium Sports.”
The shuttling star of the evening was young Kashika Mahajan of Goregaon Sports Club who won a grand triple crown (WS, WD and XD) in the open category and PM Balakrishna of Chembur Gymkhana who reached all 3 combined age finals, winning two. Other notable winners were Bandra Gym’s Deanne Rodrigues and MCA Kandivali’s Palkan Dave who reached 2 finals, winning one. Young Mann Gajra also impressed with two titles.
RESULTS: FINALS
MS: Mann Gajra bt Harsh Sharma 7-2121-1721-19
WS: Kashika Mahajan bt Kenisha Chavan 21-6 21-6
MD: Abhidnya Sawant/Dhruv Oza bt Anmoal Behrani/Arijeet Bose 21-16 21-19
WD: Kashika M/Shradha Hakke bt Deanne Rodrigues/ Palkan Dave 21-13 21-17
XD: Mann Gajra/Kashika M bt Harsh Sharma/Shradha Hakke 21-16 21-19
80+ MD: P M Bala/Sid Gupta bt Mahesh Chhabria/Vivek Shah 21-16 15-21 21-17
90+ MD: P M Bala/Raveesh Mohan bt S L Justin/Satinder Malhotra 21-15 21-14
100+ MD: P M Bala/Sandeep Mohan bt A. Vithalkar/Mahesh C 21-10 21-14
75+ WD: Deanne Rodrigues/ Palkan Dave bt Sarita J/Shweta Thakur 21-1721-14
By: Manoj Vaz Ramchandran