PANAJI: Karan Dhavaskar and Anjana Kumari were respectively crowned men’s and women’s singles champions while Harsh Mane and Janhavi Mahale emerged winners in Junior (U-19) boys and girls singles categories respectively, at the Rasik Memorial State Badminton Ranking Tournament 2022 organised by Rasik Memorial Trust in collaboration with Goa Badminton Association and Sports Authority of Goa at Manohar Parrikar Indoor stadium, Navelim.
In the finals on Sunday – Sanquelim boy Karan, who came into the tournament after his previous success in Chicalim; tasted glory again with a 21-18, 21-19 win over Umakant Sarge, in the process winning the Rasik Memorial Rolling Trophy.
Anjana was made to work much harder by a tenacious Janhavi Mahale before prevailing 21-15, 21-23, 21-15 in the women’s singles final. Harsh Mane created a major upset in junior boys singles when he edged out Nishant Shenai in a pulsating contest to emerge victorious.
In a gruelling three-set match which was full of engaging rallies, 14-year-old Harsh, playing in an event two categories above, triumphed over Nishant, who is ranked number 26 in India, winning the battle 21-19, 14-21, 21-18. The Under-19 girls singles finals was a contrasting match with Janhavi Mahale cruising to a facile 21-18, 21-1 win over Nidhi Desai. The match of the day was the U19 boys doubles finals between Yash Desai and Ashmeet Parsekar who came back strongly from a set down to win their maiden doubles title in this section. The young duo, who train at the Khelo India Centre of Excellence at Campal, upset top seeds Yash Halarnkar / Aryaman Saraf, winning 13-21, 21-18, 21-17.
Fallary brothers Tejan and Arjun continued with their winning ways, registering a comfortable 21-16, 21-11 win over Sanath Kamat and Arjun Chauhan to win their third successive men’s doubles title. Tejan and Yasmin Sayed combined in senior mixed doubles to record a 10-21, 21-13, 21-11 over a gritty Ayaan shaikh / Anar Singbal.
In other results, Nidhi Desai / Janhavi Mahale defeated Pratishtha Shenoy / Synnovia D’Souza 21-9, 21-7 to win the U19 girls doubles title, Yash Halarnkar / Nidhi Desai fought hard to put it across Aryaman Saraf / Minoshka Pereira winning 21-18, 18-21, 21-16 in U19 mixed doubles, while Janhavi Mahale / Anjana Kumari beat Anar Singbal / Yasmin Sayed 21-17, 11-21, 21-16 in women’s doubles.
Janhavi Mahale bagged triple crown while Tejan Fallary, Anjana Kumari and Nidhi Desai won double crowns each. Shaheen C.K was awarded the most promising player of the tournament. The annual event was organised in the memory of Late Rasik Painguinkar, one of Goa’s foremost Men’s singles champions and a legendary name in Goa’s badminton circles. Ulhas Tuenkar, MLA Navelim constituency, Ajay Gaude, Executive Director SAG, Rasik Memorial Trustees Kamlini Painguinkar, Tanuja Painguinkar, Raju Painguinkar and Anil Painguinkar and Goa Badminton Association officials Narahar Thakur (President) and Sandeep Heble (Secretary) graced the closing function among others.
Finals results:
Under-19 Girls Singles
Janhavi Mahale bt Nidhi Desai 21-18, 21-1
Under-19 Boys Singles
Harsh Mane bt Nishant Shenai 21-19, 14-21, 21-18
Under-19 Girls Doubles
Nidhi Desai / Janhavi Mahale bt Pratishtha Shenoy / Synnovia D’Souza 21-9, 21-7
Under-19 Boys Doubles
Yash Desai / Ashmeet Parsekar bt Yash Halarnkar / Aryaman Saraf 13-21, 21-18, 21-17
Under-19 Mixed Doubles
Yash Halarnkar / Nidhi Desai bt Aryaman Saraf / Minoshka Pereira 21-18, 18-21, 21-16
Women’s Singles
Anjana Kumari bt Janhavi Mahale 21-15, 21-23, 21-15
Men’s Singles
Karan Dhavaskar bt Umakant Sarge 21-18, 21-19
Women’s Doubles
Janhavi Mahale / Anjana Kumari bt Anar Singbal / Yasmin Sayed 21-17, 11-21, 21-16
Men’s Doubles
Tejan Fallary / Arjun Fallary bt Sanath Kamat / Arjun Chauhan 21-16, 21-11
Senior Mixed Doubles
Tejan Fallary / Yasmin Sayed bt Ayaan Shaikh / Anar Singbal 10-21, 21-13, 21-11.
