In the mixed doubles final, unseeded Kiran and his partner Naheed Divecha (Mumbai ) defeated top seeded pair of Prabagaran Subbaiyan and Jayashree Raghu ( Karnataka) in straight games with scores of 21-15, 21-9. Earlier in the quarter, Kiran & Naheed upset the formidable second seeded pair of Shrikant Bakshi & Geeta Agarwal of Delhi 21-19, 21-13. While in semis Kiran & Naheed defeated third seeded Ajay Salvi & Sunita Panwar 21 -13, 21-9.
Manisha too triumphs
Another city shuttler Manisha Bhawatkar did city proud by bagging a gold medal in women's doubles 40 plus category alongwith her partner Arti Sinojiya of Pune. In the finals they defeated Shantala Kampapurmath & Suneetha Rao in straight games 21-10, 21- 18. Earlier in the quarterfinal Manisha & Arti defeated seasoned campaigner Naheed Divecha & Nisha Rani 21-18, 21-17. While in the semi-final, they outclassed Soumya CC & Roopa Kamath 21-15,21-9. Manisha & Arti playing for the first time in Nationals slogged out from qualification rounds and won the coveted title in their maiden outing in this Nationals.