NAVELIM: It was an eventful day for Goa’s Masters badminton players at the All India Masters Ranking Badminton Tournament, a Selection tournament for the BWF World Seniors championships 2021 Spain; on day 3 at Manohar Parrikar Indoor stadium, here.
Goa’s premier Masters mixed doubles pair of Dr Satish Kudchadkar and Dr Sicletica Rebello, secured the host its first Gold medal of the tournament with a sensational 20-22, 21-14, 21-12 win over Wazir Chand Goyal and Usha Sharma to win the in the 75+ category.
Dr Kudchadkar, who was in the fray for two more titles, having reached the finals in Men’s Singles and Doubles in 75+ age categories, had to settle for Silver in both these categories. In Men’s Singles 75+, Kudchadkar went down 13 – 21, 23 – 25 to Sudam Shahare. In Men’s Doubles 75+, Kudchadkar along with his partner Alfred Christian gave top seeds Suresh D. Hegde / Mohan Murari Lal Srivastava several tough moments before going down narrowly by 18-21, 17-21 scoreline. Meanwhile, Sicletica, the eldest women of the tournament, won Goa its second Gold by claiming the Women’s 75+ doubles title along with her partner Perpetua Jaques. In Mixed Doubles 70+ finals, Goa’s Hilario Fernandes / Malaquinha Fernandes lost 21-8, 21-3 to top seeds Rakesh Sharma / Maya Chawat but a Silver medal finish for the Goans sealed them a qualification place in Spain for the World Seniors. Likewise, Mukta Agshikar in WS 70+ secured Silver, going down 21-10, 21-8 to top seed Maya Chawat. In Women’s Doubles 70+ finals, Mukta Agshikar / Bharati Heble lost 21-8, 21-10 to settle for Silver. Goa’s Tanaji Sawant who scored some outstanding wins in Men’s Singles 65+ during last two days, knocking out higher seeds, went down to top seed Anil Mital to settle for bronze. All these players by virtue of their strong performance have qualified for the BWF World Seniors championships, which is scheduled to be held during November – December this year.
“A 10 day advanced preparatory camp was held for Goa players conducted by SAG Coach Vinayak Kamat. Goa players were very committed and put in lot of efforts along with the coach Kamat. There were extensive sessions which resulted in good results for our team. For the first time in our history, so many of our players have qualified, and many more are in the fray. Our hearty congratulations especially to Dr Sicletica, Kudchadkar and Tanaji Sawant who played brilliantly the last few days”, stated Sandeep Heble, Goa Badminton Association secretary.
The tournament, organised by Goa Badminton Association under the aegis of Badminton Association of India and supported by SAG, concludes on September 26.
