Leopards edge out Sunrisers in badminton final

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 15

Himalayan Snow Leopards overcame Sunrisers Hyderabad in an intense final to win the team championship on the concluding day of the Pro Masters Badminton League at the Sector Sports Complex here today.

Sunil Gladson V and Madhusmita Deka downed Varun Sharma and Deepthi Chapala 15-12 15-14 in a mixed doubles contest to provide an early lead to Leopards, but Sunrisers drew level through Aneesh KA and Sushil Kumar Patit. The duo beat Arun Dhand and Sanyasi Rao 15-11 15-11 in the men’s doubles competition.

Vidhyadhar and Lakhwinder Pal Singh then drubbed Devendra Bahadur Thapa and Ravindra Singh 15-10 15-13 to put Sunrisers ahead. However, the side gave away the advantage after Ajay Kanwar and Varun Sharma lost 10-15 9-15 to Leopards’ Sunil Gladson and Upendra Fadnis.

Markose Bristow and Rajendra Kumar swung the match once again in favour of Sunrisers with a 15-14 15-13 win over Akula Venkata Raju and Kawaljit Singh, but Leopards won the remaining two matches to seize the final 4-3.

While Bijoy Barman and Parag Ekande thrashed Prashob Vallyand and Vishal Rallan 15-11 15-5 in the men’s doubles contest, Ashutosh Pendekar and Vinaya R Shetty prevailed 14-15 15-10 15-10 over Kiran Vinayakrao Makode and Yupu Boni in the mixed doubles clash to help Leopards claim the title.