A PAIR of new champions evolved on the final day of the all-India major ranking badminton at the Bhilai Steel Plant's indoor stadium. The culmination of the four-day main draw events saw the emergence of Nikhil Kanetkar and Trupti Murgunde as the singles champions in the men's and women's sections respectively.
The effort seemed greater on the part of the southpaw Kanetkar who climbed from the rank of the qualifiers to eventually walk away with the title. Trupti, seeded third in the tournament, was never favoured for the title. But the way she defeated the top seed and the seemingly invincible P. V. V. Lakshmi in the final, spoke volumes about the teenager's grit and talent. Both the champions had to assert themselves over top-seeded players in the title clash. While Trupti defeated Lakshmi, Kanetkar outclassed the country's top ranked player Abhinn Shyam Gupta in a gruelling battle of nerves.
The Rs. 4 lakhs prize money Grand Prix attracted the majority of top ranked players of the country. Apart from P. Gopi Chand and Aparna Popat, who hardly get the time to play in the domestic meets, there were very few absentees. The stipulated draw of 32 players had a full-house in the men's section while the women's category, as usual, failed to draw full strength leading to first round byes to most of the players.
With Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) serving as the host, the event was smoothly conducted. The steel city, with its cosmopolitan population, presented a great sporting culture with its many stadiums and sports patronised by the BSP. The company has taken extra care to recruit reputed sportsmen of the likes of Olympians and Arjuna awardees Hanuman Singh (who also heads the National Handball Academy there) and Rajendra Prasad at the helm of its sporting activities and has shaped its sporting policy accommodating a number of disciplines. The organiser, Durg District Badminton Association, too, played its part well and succeeded in its maiden venture without any hiccups. The encouraging aspect of the Association is that it is run by former players from the region, led by Sanjay Mishra as the secretary. The participants were well looked after with free food and accommodation coming in as an added incentive.
Despite having different corporate affiliations, the two singles champions, Trupti representing Air India and Nikhil from Petroleum Sports Control Board, were backed in their triumph by a common academy.
Both are the wards of the BPL-Prakash Padukone Academy in Bangalore, and highlighted through their efforts the pre-eminence of their training school.
The Bangalore factor also contributed in the excellence of a few other players who impressed with their performance, reaching the final stages of the tournament. Among these were two losing semifinalists, D. Guruprasad (Bank Sports Board) and Shalini Prakash (Air India), both representatives of the Sports Authority of India's Centre for Excellence. The two played well and defeated a few senior and superior ranked players while moving up.
The singles crown added to the doubles title that Trupti won in partnering Archana Deodhar of Maharashtra, and gave her the rare honour of winning a double. Lakshmi had to be content with the mixed doubles crown which she won partnering B. Chetan Anand of Oil and Natural Gas Commission. The two disposed of the top-seeded pair of Marcos Bristo of PSCB and Archana Deodhar to claim the title.
P. V. V. Lakshmi, ranked second to Aparna Popat at the national level, was at her best winning all her matches on way to the final with an uncanny ease. While taking on the unassuming Trupti, ranked sixth in the country, complacency generated by the effortless success till the title round seemed to affect Lakshmi in the title decider. Lakshmi won the first game easily as Trupti played too aggressively and ended making repeated unforced errors. The turnaround started in the second game when the 19-year-old Bangalore trainee was perfect in her returns to Lakshmi's placings and matched the guiles of her top-seeded opponent. The second game saw the transformation as Trupti won a protracted duel to level the scores.
Having gained the footage, it was only a matter of time as Trupti won the next two games with comparative ease to ensure the title. Trupti beat 17-year-old Shalini in the semifinals to end the latter's title dream that was raised following a great win against second-seeded Divya Ramesh (Life Insurance Corporation) in the quarterfinal. The unseeded teenager later said that the win was significant more for the reason that she could emulate the very player Divya - she had grown up idolising. In her semifinal match, Lakshmi easily scalped C. H. Deepti (Andhra Pradesh), who had moved up crushing Simsim Salaria (Maharashtra). The fourth- seeded D. Swetha was shown the door early by Simsim, playing her first match after almost four years, in the pre-quarterfinals.
The men's final presented a similar sequence of events. Top-seeded Abhinn won the first game in just nine minutes, with a 7-4 scoreline. The next game consumed exactly the double of the time as Kanetkar clawed back into the action. Kanitkar, controlled his natural aggressive game and laced it with caution to counter Abhinn's overtly defensive approach.
The classic contest of temperament and technique consumed almost an hour before Kanetkar completed his task, being the more positive of the two.
Kanitkar, kept out of action for over a year by a liver ailment, was very impressive with his rapid climb following his comeback. Getting back into action just a month ago, he has been gaining up the ladder of rankings pretty quickly and this was best displayed at Bhilai. Kanetkar consumed second-seeded B. Chetan Anand in a marathon semifinal, to avenge the defeat against the same opponent in the quarterfinals at the Grand Prix at Bangalore, just a month ago. Moving into the last-four stage, Kanetkar, placed in the bottom half of the draw, beat fourth-seeded Arvind Bhatt of Karnataka in a spectacular match pitting the two players at their aggressive best.
In the top half, Abhinn made a steady progress blowing away all that came in his way. The country's top ranked player, having achieved a high level of consistency and precision, displayed a quiet resolve in dominating his opponents.
He won all the matches in straight games till the semifinals where he met eighth-seeded D. Guruprasad, fresh from upsetting third-seeded Sachin Ratti of the Railways in the quarterfinals. Abhinn lost a game for the first time in the tournament as the 21-year-old SAI trainee sought to repeat his feat. But the seasoned top seed managed to hold on before winning the match in four games and progressed to the final.
The men's doubles saw the matches going by the seedings and the final had a contest between the top two teams. It was only in the final that order was broken as the second-seeded pair of Vijaydeep Singh (Railways) and Marcos Bristo (PSCB) toppled the top-seeded team of Jaseel P. Ismail (PSCB) and Jaison Xavier (LIC) in a final extended to the decider in a five-game format.
The results:Men: Singles: Final: 1-Abhinn Shyam Gupta (PSCB) lost to Nikhil Kanetkar (PSCB) 7-4, 3-7, 5-7, 1-7. Semifinals: Abhinn Shyam Gupta bt 8-D. Guruprasad (BSB) 7-1, 7-5, 5-7, 7-2; 2-B. Chetan Anand (ONGC) lost to Nikhil Kanetkar 4-7, 7-2, 6-8, 7-1, 3-7. Quarterfinals: Abhinn Shyam Gupta bt 5-Thomas Kurien (ONGC) 7-2, 7-4, 7-1; 3-Sachin Ratti (Rly) lost to D. Guruprasad 7-2, 3-7, 1-7, 7-4, 3-7; 4-Arvind Bhatt (Kar) lost to Nikhil Kanetkar 2-7, 7-5, 3-7, 0-7; B. Chetan Anand bt 7-Ravinder Singh (UP) 7-0, 7-3, 7-1.
Doubles: Final: 1- Jaseel P. Ismail (PSCB) and Jaison Xavier (LIC) lost to 2-Vijaydeep Singh (Rly) and Marcos Bristo (PSCB) 7-2, 7-5, 2-7, 5-7, 1-7. Semifinals: Jaseel P. Ismail and Jaison Xavier bt Arvind Bhatt and Ajay Vijay Tilak (Kar) 4-7, 8-6, 7-1, 7-2; Vijaydeep Singh and Marcos Bristo bt 3-George Thomas (PSCB) and K. A. Aneesh (Ker) 7-2, 7-2, 6-8, 7-4.
Women: Singles: Final: 1-P. V. V. Lakshmi (PSCB) lost to 3-Trupti Murgunde (A-I) 7-2, 3-7, 4-7, 4-7. Semifinals: P. V. V. Lakshmi bt C. H. Deepti (AP) 7-1, 7-1, 7-0; 3-Trupti Murgunde (A-I) bt Shalini Prakash (A-I) 7-1, 7-4, 7-4. Quarterfinals: P. V. V. Lakshmi bt Pooja Patil (A-I) 7-1, 7-1, 7-0; C. H. Deepti bt Simsim Salaria (Mah) 7-1, 4-7, 8-6, 7-3; Trupti Murgunde bt Afza Rehman (Chg) 7-2, 7-0, 7-2; 2-Divya Ramesh (LIC) lost to Shalini Prakash 7-3, 6-8, 8-6, 3-7, 1-7.
Doubles: Final: 1-Archana Deodhar (Mah) and Trupti Murgunde (A-I) bt Divya Ramesh (LIC) and D. Swetha (AP) 7-5, 7-1, 7-5. Semifinals: Archana Deodhar and Trupti Murgunde bt Pooja Patil and Shalini Prakash (A-I) 7-0, 7-1, 8-6; 2-P. V. V. Lakshmi (PSCB) and G. Sharda Reddy (AP) lost to Divya Ramesh and D. Swetha 7-2, 4-7, 5-7, 0-7.
Mixed doubles: Final: 1-Marcos Bristo (PSCB) and Archana Deodhar (Mah) lost to Chetan Anand (ONGC) and P. V. V. Lakshmi (PSCB) 2-7, 2-7, 2-7. Semifinals: Marcos Bristo and Archana Deodhar bt Vijaydeep Singh (Rly) and G. Sharda Reddy (AP) 5-7, 6-8, 7-0, 7-4, 7-4; Chetan Anand and P. V. V. Lakshmi w/o Srikant Bakshi (Rly) and Swati Moghe (Guj).
MAKING RAPID STRIDESNIKHIL KANETKAR'S triumph in the men's singles as a rank outsider reflects the confidence the player has in his abilities. Kanetkar, a brilliant left-hander who blends aggression and accuracy in fine measure, is definitely a treat to watch.
A final year undergraduate in Commerce, Kanetkar also impresses with his cerebral approach that highlights an alert mind, which can read the opponent's game quickly. The sinewy player from Pune presents the perfect physique of a badminton player and this can be gauged from his control and ability to cover every corner of the court.
Kanetkar, who is a grade 'A' officer with the Indian Oil Corporation, presently trains in the BPL-Prakash Padukone Academy in Bangalore. Kanetkar suddenly disappeared from the competitive scenario after representing the country in the Thomas Cup finals in Malaysia. He played his part well in the team - led by none other than P. Gopi Chand - that was aiming for a place among the global elite. India qualified for the finals opening a new chapter in the games history. A liver ailment banished the talented player to the confines of home and the convalescence consumed more than a year.
The 22-year-old player started winning big tournaments from an early age. The journey to prominence in the senior stage began with the title in the all-India Grand Prix at Mumbai in 1998. A major title eluded him till his recent triumph in Bhilai, though he had been the runner-up in similar tournaments on five other occasions. Ranked 31st prior to the Bhilai meet, the title will catapult his position a lot higher.
Playing in the intra-institutional tournament, he beat Gopi Chand on the way to win the PSCB singles title in 2000 in Goa. "Gopi was not fully fit when I beat him in the PSCB meet," was the frank admission the soft-spoken player had to make while remembering the only occasion he got the better of the Indian star.
Kanetkar has been planning his professional career well. He played at least three tournaments in Europe immediately after he returned into the competitive scene. Among his important achievements are, winning the Asian Satellite in Sri Lanka in 1998, the Commonwealth Games team silver in Malaysia (1998) and the runner-up spot in the U.S. Open in 1999, where he beat China's World junior bronze medallist Luo Xelin in the semifinals. He also did well in the German and Toulouse Opens reaching the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively while mastering higher ranked Europeans. The highest he reached in the international rankings was 45. Having won the Bhilai meet, Kanetkar feels a lot more confident before starting his European trip again.
Another Maharashtra player to attract attention was the women's champion, Trupti Murgunde. The 19-year-old Mumbai lass gave a good display of the lessons she received while training at the BPL-Prakash Padukone Academy. The title at Bhilai is her first at the senior level. Trupti has been making rapid strides ever since she stepped into the seniors' domain.
The National juniors runner-up in 1999, Trupti has matured fast having been drafted into the systematic and sound coaching at the academy. Trupti showed quiet resolve and nerves under pressure while she took on the top-seeded P. V. V. Lakshmi in the final at Bhilai. Her achievement was definitely an improvement on the final loss to B. R. Meenakshi, at the Bangalore Grand Prix just a month ago. The Air India player hopes to improve her ranking from the present sixth, performing well in the future tournaments.
The thrust will be on performing on a consistent level in the national meets as this could only open the doors to the wide world of professional circuit.
Trupti has a lot of seniors to emulate and it can be hoped that the talent she has displayed will be nurtured properly in bringing the best out of her.
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