Pillai shocked Pune shuttler 15-13, 10-15, 15-12 in three games. Earlier MLC Shri. Sandip Joshi inaugurated the tournament in the presence of Chairman & Managing Director, Diffusion Engineers Ltd. Prashant Garg, MBA vice president Shirish Boralkar, vice president Pankaj Thakur, senior vice president Mangesh Kashikar, MBA secretary Siddharth Patil, NDBA president Kundatai Vijaykar, treasurer Anant Apte, coaching secretary Madhavi Kashikar Hedaoo, EC members Gurdeep Singh Arora, Neha Gosavi, and Nikhil Rokde.
The ceremony began with a warm welcome address and a brief overview of the tournament by Mangesh Kashikar, who also took the opportunity to congratulate Siddharth Patil on being elected as the ne secretary of Maharashtra Badminton Association.
In his speech, Prashant Garg reiterated the N.K. Garg Foundation's dedication to empowering young talent in sports, education, and social development. He expressed a strong commitment to continuing support for such tournaments at an even higher level in the future.
Sandip Joshi, in his address, spoke on the significance of sports in building a disciplined and healthy society. He shared moments from the Khasdar Krida Mahotsav, where he serves as Director, and promised continued support to the development of sports infrastructure in local communities. He encouraged players and organizers to approach him freely for any government-related support or initiatives to boost sports culture.