Photo Caption : Right to left Ayaz Billawala and Sailesh Daga recieve the players of the tournament prize from Padma Bhusan Pullela Gopichand at the finals of the 25th G D Birla Memorial Masters Inter-Club Badminton Tournament.shailesh secures singles title, double joy for Ayaz
Top-seeded Shailesh Daga emerged as the winner of the Men’s singles 45+ division of the 25th G.D.Birla Memorial Masters Inter-club Badminton Tournament, sponsored by Aditya Birla Capital. Being organised by Badminton 45 at the Bombay Gymkhana Courts . The top seed prevailed in straight games over the 2nd seeded Ashutosh Pednekar with an identical scoreline of 21-14,21-14.
Ayaz Bilawala completed a double, winning the Men’s doubles combined 100+ final, partnering with Mayur Tawde. The pair overcame the 2nd seeded Leroy D’Sa & Sushant Nidodi 21-15,21-19 in two intense games. Ayaz had earlier clinched the Men’s doubles 45+ category title as well.
The mix combined 80+ category saw the top-ranked pair of Ashutosh Pednekar & Naheed Divecha clinching the title with a closely fought 21-19,21-14 win over the unseeded pair of Rajesh D’Souza & Nisha Springett.
In the Men’s doubles combined 80+ category, the unseeded pair of Rajat Moitera & Sushant Nidodi came out on top in a see-saw battle, beating the 2nd seeded Sachin Bharati & Upendra Phadnis 21-18,16-21,21-15.
Meanwhile, in the elite team championship finals, hosts Bombay Gymkhana ‘A’ saw off the challenge of M.I.G., on their way to a convincing 2-0 victory. M.C.F. beat Nerul Sports Club 2-0 to win the plate team championship finals.
The concluding day was graced by the presence of ‘Padma Bhushan’ Mr. P. Gopichand, the chief national coach of the Indian Badminton Team, along with H.S. Prannoy, the current world no.10. Speaking ahead of the finals, Mr. Gopichand narrated his inspiring journey as a player, his struggles & his continued pursuit for excellence ever since. The duo was even pitted against each other in a doubles exhibition match, leaving the packed audience enchanted with the quality of badminton on display.
Results:
Men’s Singles 45+: Final
Shailesh Daga [1] bt. Ashutosh Pednekar [2] 21-14,21-14.
Mix Combined 80+: Final
Ashutosh Pednekar/ Naheed Divecha [1] bt. Rajesh D’Souza/ Nisha Springett 21-19,21-14.
Team Championships- Elite: Final
Bombay Gymkhana ‘A’ bt. M.I.G. 2-0.
Women’s Doubles Combined 75+: Final
Deanne Rodrigues/ Nisha Springett [1] bt. Naheed Divecha/ Pooja Sriram [2] 24-22,21-10.
Men’s Doubles Combined 100+: Final
Ayaz Bilawala/ Mayur Tawde [1] bt. Leroy D’Sa/ Sushant Nidodi [2] 21-15,21-19.
Men’s Doubles Combined 80+: Final
Rajat Moitera/ Sushant Nidodi bt. Sachin Bharati/ Upendra Phadnis [2] 21-18,16-21,21-15.
Team Championships- Plate: Final
M.C.F. bt. Nerul Sports Club 2-0.