Akash wins gold in badminton tourney

Chandigarh, April 3

Akash Sethi outplayed Pankaj Naithani (21-17, 21-20) to win the men’s 35 final on the concluding day of the Chandigarh State Masters’ Badminton Championship at the Sector 42 Sports Complex.

In the women’s 45 final, Geeta Aggrawal ousted Lavita Sharma (21-09, 21-14, 21-15). The pair of Varun and Nikhil won the men’s doubles 40 title by defeating Naresh Kundu and Vivek Sharma (21-14, 21-19).

In the mixed doubles 35 final, Paras Gupta and Binny Bansal defeated Anuj Talwar and Neha (21-09, 23-21), while in the men’s singles 40 final, Varun defeated Naresh (21-12, 21-12).

In a see-saw battle, the team of Riyaz and Gurmeet won the men’s doubles 50 final by defeating Vijayendra K and Rajpal (28-26, 15-21, 21-19).

Players honoured

The Chandigarh Badminton Association felicitated international shuttlers Abhishek Saini and Varun Sharma, who won medals in the recently concluded international tournaments. Both players were given full kit and a cash award of Rs20,000 each on the closing day of the championship.