NAVELIM: Raghavan P (Karnataka) and Varun Sharma (Chandigarh) scored a hard-fought victory over Mayank Behal (Punjab) and Pankaj Naithani (CAG) 21-14, 19-21, 21-13 to win the men’s doubles 35+ category title on the concluding day of the All-India Masters Ranking Badminton Tournament 2021, at Manohar Parrikar Indoor Stadium, Navelim-Goa on Sunday night.
The eight-day long tournament came to a cracking finale with the Varun-Raghavan and Mayank-Pankaj going hammer and tong at each other. The contest produced a number of powerful smashes while also displaying great defence as well. In the end, Varun and Raghavan had more to offer in terms of endurance and control, to walk away with the title in 50 minutes.
“Our experience of playing in the finals was an advantage. We have been together for the last three years and won this event for consecutive two years. We are very happy, with the performance,” Varun told www.livenewsgoa.com. He however, suffered a setback in his mixed doubles campaign due to a back muscle pull otherwise he and Sandhya Melasheemi (Goa) were amongst the pre-tournament favourites for that crown.
Under the aegis of Badminton Association of India, the event organised by Goa Badminton Association, the tournament served as the selection competition for the Indian Masters team in view of the upcoming BWF World Seniors Championships in Spain.
