Table toppers MBL Shuttlers by winning the first three ties against second-placed Paradise Warriors effectively blunted the latter’s hopes, but both stay in contention for a place in the last four knock-out stage in the 8-team 5th MCF-Badminton Premier League, at Mandpeshwar Civic Federation’s courts here last night. At halfway stage, having played four matches, MBL Shuttlers won all, while Paradise Warriors and CENSEO Smashers have recorded three wins each in their four outings.
Sushant Niddodi in action
The Shuttlers were given a fine start by Rajendra Sapre and Gautam Shetty as they got the better of Satish Sharma and Nityanand Seth in tough tie that went to the wire before they triumphed 15-11, 8-15, 15-12. This was followed by Amol Joshi, who made it 2-0, beating Samant Singh 15-12, 15-14 in the open singles. And then Aakash Wagh and Anup Nerurkar settled the issue with a 15-7, 15-14 win over Murli Lahoti and Ankeet Kansara. The remaining two ties, which MBL Shuttlers lost, were not of much consequence.
Sushant Niddodi, a former state and university player spearheaded NAMO Warriors to comfortable 3-2 victory over bottom of the table Other Planet to stay in the reckoning for the knock-out semifinals. The winners, however, after gining the winning lead, lost the remaining two ties without much ado.
Results: MBL Shuttlers bt Paradise Warriors 3-2: OPEN DOUBLES (1): Gautam Shetty/Rajendra Sapre bt Satish Sharma/Nityanand Shet 15-11, 8-15, 15-12. OPEN SINGLES: Amol Joshi bt Samant Singh 15-12, 15-14. Akash Wagh/Anup Nerurkar bt Murli Lahoti/Ankeet Kansara 15-7, 15-14. MIXED DOUBLES: Deepsha Kapadia/Rohan Wankhede lost to Esha Doiphode/Ankeet Kansara 10-15, 9-15. OPEN DOUBLES (Vet): Gautam Shetty/Ajay Tantri lost to Gaurav Shah/Trilokesh Sampat 7-15, 12-15.
NAMO Warriors bt Other Planet 3-2: OPEN DOUBLES (2): Kunal Sanghavi/Anil Patade bt Yash Hardikar/Bhaskar Reddy 15-14, 7-15, 15-10. OPEN DOUBLES (1): Sushant Niddodi/Manoj Joshi bt Rohit Sahasrabudhe/Bhaskar Reddy 15-4, 15-4. MIXED DOUBLES: Prashant Shah/Shaurya Jain bt Prathmesh Lad/Dmple Pandhi 15-13, 15-2. OPEN DOUBLES (Vet): Anil D’ouza/Manoj Joshi lost to Yogesh Samant/KuchJoshi 9-15, 5-15.