Defending champions Goregaon Sports Club were made to fight all the way by last year’s finalists hosts Bombay Gymkhana before they prevailed 2-1 to retain their hold on the Motiram Cup (for men) on the final day of the IndusInd Bank-Motiram Cup Inter-Club Badminton tournament, hosted by Bombay Gymkhana here. It was their state ranked Sushrut Karmarkar who stood out in GSC’s win as he outwitted experienced Sagar Chopda 24-22, 9-21, 21-9 in the singles and latter paired with Harsh Jagdane in the doubles decider for a comprehensive 21-10, 21-9 win over Ayaz Billawala and Shailesh Daga.
Goregaon Sports Club, winners of the Motiram Cup for men for the last five years receiving the trophy from the Bombay Gymkhana officials on the final day of the IndusInd Bank-Motiram Cup Inter-Club Badminton tournament.
Riya Arolkar played a stellar role in CCI women retaining the Ullal Cup with a thrilling 2-1 win over Goregaon SC. Riya not only beat gutsy Kalpita Sawant in a tough three-setter before she triumphed 21-18, 14-21, 21-8, but also was at her best in the do-or-die doubles decider. Riya paired with Vaishnavi Iyer to outclass Kalpita and Jyot Rekhi Kaur 21-15, 21-15 to retain the Ullal Cup for the fifth year.
Cricket Club of India , the winners of the Ullal Cup for women, make a happy picture with the trophy
But in the juniors final, it was the Goregaon SC boys and girls, proved susperior to the CCI juniors and won 3-0 with their Anamika Singh’s 18-21, 21-9, 21-9 win over Tarini Suri being the high point. Siddharth Bhuta, too, played his heart out while subduing Atharva Joshi 21-23, 21-9, 25-23 in a tension filled boys under-15 singles. But the doubles pair of Akashan Shetty and Vikhit Bangera proved too good for Jaidev Menon and Rahil Parikh to seal their triumph with an 21-13, 21-17 win.
Goregaon Sports Club juniors, winners of the Kanji Cup for juniors boys and girls, with the trophy on the final day of the IndusInd Bank-Motiram Cup Inter-Club Badminton tournament.
Results of all the Finals-
MEN: (Motiram Cup): Goregaon S.C. bt Bombay Gym 2-1: (1st Doubles): Akshan Shetty/Kaushal Dharmamer lost to Mangrish Palekar/Sagar Chopda 18-21, 21-23. (Singles): Sushrut Karmarkar bt Sagar Chopda 24-22, 19-21, 21-9. (2nd Doubles): Sushrut Karmarker/Harsh Jagdane bt Ayaz Billawala/Shailesh Daga 21-10, 21-9.
WOMEN (Ullal Cup): CCI ‘A’ bt Goregaon SC 2-1: (1st Doubles) Kareena Madan/Natasha Daswani lost to Arya Shetty/Janhavi Jagtap 6-21, 4-21. (Singles): Riya Arolkar bt Kalpita Sawant 21-18, 21-14, 21-8. (2nd Doubles): Riya Arolkar/Vaishnavi Iyer bt Kalpita Sawant/JyotRekhi Kaur 21-15, 21-15.
JUNIORS (Kanji Memorial Cup): Goregaon SC bt CCI 3-0: (G-U-15 singles) : Anamika Singh bt Tarini Suri 18-21, 21-9, 21-9. (B-U-15 singles): Siddharth Bhuta bt Atharva Joshi 21-23, 21-9, 25-23. (B-U-19 doubles): Akshan Shetty/Vikhit Bangera bt Jaidev Menon/Rahil Parikh 21-13, 21-17.