Nat'l Badminton: PSPB storms into final

Despite PSPB starting on a jarring note with Guru Sai Dutt losing the first match, G. Ruthvika Shivani and the best men’s pair from India of Manu Attri and Pranaav Chopra made sure PSPB had no further hiccups.

Manu Attri (left) and N. Sikki Reddy of PSPB celebrate a point during their mixed doubles match against Maharashtra in the Senior National badminton team championship semifinal in Nagpur on Thursday.

Defending champions, Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB), marched into the team championship final with a 3-1 win over Maharashtra in the Senior national badminton championship at the Divisional Sports Complex here on Thursday.

This despite the jarring note with the fancied R.M.V. Guru Sai Dutt losing to the less experienced, 21-year-old Kaushal Dharmamer 14-21, 22-20, 11-21 in their maiden clash ever after the mixed doubles combine of Manu Attri and N. Sikki Reddy ensured a winning start with a fluent 21-16, 21-14 win over Akshay Dewalkar and Sanjana Santosh.

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Later, G. Ruthvika Shivani made short work of Neha Pandit 21-17, 21-15 and soon the best men’s pair from India of Manu Attri and Pranaav Chopra defeated Akshay Dewalkar and Prasad Shetty 21-13, 21-9 to give PSPB an easy win in the end.

In the other semi-final, Madhya Pradesh defeated Manipur 3-1.

Earlier in the morning session, there was an upset when Madhya Pradesh surprised last year’s runner-up Airports Authority of India with a 3-2 win in the quarterfinal.