Meiraba shocks George, enters final

Nagpur, Sept 17

The penultimate day of the ongoing BWF International Challenge Badminton Championship witnessed major upset when fourth seed Meiraba Luwang shocked top seed Kiran George to enter the final at Divisional Sports Complex, Mankapur here on Saturday.

In the men's final, Meiraba, a member of Prakash Padukone Academy and one of India's fastest rising men's singles shuttlers this season won the first game 22-20 against his practice partner in the keenly contested battle. However, the second game was little bit easy for Meiraba and he went on to win 21-14.

In the final he will take on second seed Mithun Manjunath who overcame the challenge of Ravi in grueling three games in one hour nine minutes. Manjunath won the first game 24-22. However, Ravi bounced back and restored parity by winning it 21-17. In the decider, Manjunath, living up to his reputation, turned the tables on Ravi 21-18.

In the women's singles, Japanese qualifier Miho Kayala made the light work of Indian Tasnim Mir 21-14, 21-15 and entered the final. She is in line for another title as she made it to women doubles final. In all Japan battle, Miho Kayama and her partner Kaho Osawa defeated Riko Imai-Maiko Kawazoe 21-18, 16-21, 21-17 in three games.

In another women singles semis, Gadde Ruthvika Shivani who has so far won several national and international medals recorded 24-22, 21-17 victory over Isharani Baruah.

The finals will be played on Sunday from 9 am onwards followed by prize distribution function. union minister Nitin Gadkari, BJP state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule, MBA president Arun Lakhani and NDBA secretary Mangesh Kashikar will grace the occasion.

Water leakage again plays spoilsport

Water leakage during the match once again played spoilsport during ongoing international badminton championship. During the mixed doubles semi-final between Indian pair Arjunkrishnan Rajaram- Arul Baba Radhakrishnan and Thailand pair Ruttanapak-Jhenicha the stagnated water started to pour on court number one from the roof. It forced the tournament referee to stop and match for almost half hour. Lokmat Times has consistently highlighted the water leakage issue but it seems that the concerned authorities are not bothered about it.

Malvika's b'day celebrated in Metro

The Nagpur Metro which is the sponsor of the tournament celebrated the birthday of talented international shuttler Malvika Bansod in metro on Saturday. Actually, Malvik's birthday was on Thursday but it was celebrated today. Malvika, her parents Nagpur Metro and badminton association officials took the metro ride from Airport to Khapri and back to Freedom Park. During the ride Malvika cut the cake and those who were present wished her.

Results

Men's singles: Meiraba Luwng Maisnam (4) bt Kiran George (1) 22-20, 21-14; Mithun Manjunath (2) bt Ravi 24-22, 21-17, 21-18

Women singles: Miho Kayala (JPN) btTasnim Mir 21-14, 21-15; Gadde Ruthvika Shivani bt Isharani Baruah 24-22, 21-17

Men's doubles: Chaloempon Charoenkitamorn-Nanthakarn Yogdphaisong (THA) bt Krishna Prasad Garaga-Vishnuvardan Goud Panjala (2) 21-12, 21-15; Mr Anjun-Dhruv Kapila bt PS Ravikrishna-sanskar Prasad Udaykumar 21-14, 21-17

Women doubles: Chisato hoshi-Miyu (JPN) bt sarochin Palaiphoon-Methaika Puthawilai 21-10, 21-8;

Miho Kayama-Kaho Osawa (JPN) bt Riko Imai-Maiko Kawazoe (JPN) 21-18, 16-21, 21-17.

Mixed boubles: Rutanapak Oupthong-Jhenica Sudjaipraparat bt Arjunkrishan Rajaram-Arul Bala Radhakrishnan 21-14, 21-13; Gouse Shaik-Maneesha K bt Navaneeth Boka-Priya Konjengbam 21-12, 19-21, 21-17.