Indore: Divyansh Srivastava and Sarth Mishra of Uttar Pradesh outplayed West Bengal’s Sujal Bainik and Bodhisatwa Chaudhury 3-1 to win the Youth Boys doubles gold, while Pritha Vartikar and Jennifer Varghese of Maharashtra stamped their authority over state-mates Taneesha Kotecha and Risha Mirchandani to take the yellow metal in the Girls’ doubles final of the Khelo India Youth Games on the third day at the Abhay Prashal here today.
The UP duo lost the first game but did well to put that disappointment behind them to look ahead. It paid rich dividends as Divyansh and Sarth played well afterwards with excellent placements and great finishes. Left-handed Sujal could not make up as much as he would have wanted for Budhistawa but a few unforced errors compound their misery.
In the all-Maharashtra Girls’ doubles final, Pritha and Jennifer proved themselves as the No. 1 pair to win the gold with an emphatic 3-0 verdict.
It was a clinical performance by the two, as they brushed aside the threat in the first game to complete the task with perfect understanding and sure of who among the two will attack and defend. They swapped their positions well, and it worked to their advantage. On the other hand, Taneesha and the tall Risha lacked such coordination, the essential ingredient of a doubles contest.
At least one match went down to the wire in the Youth Girls semi-finals, as Taneesha Kotecha and her partner Risha Mirchandani staged a fine recovery to push the Haryana pair of Suhana Saini and Prithoki Chakraborty after the two led 2-0 to play the bronze medal playoff.
The match seemed to head one way, but the Maharashtra duo changed the course, inching their way up. After levelling the score 2-2, their soaring confidence was reflected in the outcome when they finished in style. In the other semi-final, Pritha Vartikar and Jennifer Varghese combined well to blank out Karnataka’s Yashaswini Ghorpade and Anargaya Manjunath 3-0.
Even Divyansh Srivastava and Sarth Mishra led 2-0 before dropping a game and then overpowering Jash Modi-Neil Mulye combined from Maharashtra 3-1. Earlier in the quarterfinals, the UP pair got stretched by West Bengal’s Praneet Bhaskar and Shankhadip Das. Yet, the UP boys withstood the pressure to see their rivals off the table. In the all-West Bengal semi-final, Sujal Banik and Bodhisatwa’s initial struggle notwithstanding, the duo shocked Ankur Bhattacharjee and Soumyadeep Sarkar 3-0. Whatever resistance the latter combination offered in the first game came to nought as they wilted under constant pressure from their state-mates.
Karnataka girls win bronze
At 8-all in the decisive game, with the bronze medal playoff between Karnataka and Haryana evenly poised, Haryana’s Prithoki Chakraborty made a cardinal blunder to rush with the shot of a highball. It missed the table and went out, giving Karnataka the edge. Yashaswini Ghorpade and Aanargaya Manjunath celebrated mildly and then took the last two points for a hug with the medal in their bags.
The Karnataka girls deserved the medal after extricating themselves twice from the depth as the Haryana pair, led by Suhana Saini, played better. With a timely counter and seizing the moment from two game points down in the second game, Karnataka restored parity to keep itself in the match with a fine finish in the fourth.
Haryana held the advantage in the second game, but Karnataka saved three game points and won the second game on their second game point for a lifeline.
bronze for Maharashtra
Maharashtra’s Jash Modi and Neil Mulye thrashed West Bengal’s Ankur Bhattacharjee and Soumyadeep Sarkar to win the bronze medal in the Boys’ doubles. Right from the beginning, the Maharashtra boys played with better understanding while their rivals searched for the balls. Their inability to keep the ball on the table put paid to their ambitions.
Results:
Boys Doubles: Final: Divyansh Srivastava/Sarth Mishra (UP) bt Sujal Banik/Bodhisatwa Chaudhury (WB) 8-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-8.
Semi-finals: Divyansh Srivastava/Sarth Mishra bt Jash Modi/Neil Mulye (Mah) 13-11,11-7,2-11,11-7;Sujal Banik/Bodhisatwa Chaudhury bt Ankur Bhattacharjee/Soumyadeep Sarkar (WB) 12-10,11-5,11-6.
Quarterfinals: Divyansh Srivastava/Sarth Mishra bt Praneet Bhaskar/Shankhadip Das (WB) 3-11,13-11,7-11,11-6,11-8; Jash Modi/Neil Mulye bt Anuja Soni/Kartikey Kaushik (MP) 11-7,11-7,8-11,11-6; Sujal Banik/Bodhistawa Chaudhury bt K.J. Aakash/P. Yeshwanth (Kar) 7-11,11-4, 8-11,11-6,11-7; Ankur Bhattacharjee/Soumyadeep Sarkar w/o Preyesh Raj Suresh/Prakasam Raghuram (TN) 3-0.
Bronze Playoff: Jash Modi/Neil Mulye (Mah) bt Ankur Bhattacharjee/Soumyadeep Sarkar (WB) 11-6, 11-5, 11-8.
Girls Doubles: Final: Pritha Vartikar/Jennifer Varghese (Mah) bt Risha Mirchandani/Taneesha Kotecha (Mah) 13-11, 11-9, 11-7.
Semi-finals: Risha Mirchandani/Taneesha Kotecha bt Suhana Saini/Prithoki Chakraborty (Har) 9-11,5-11,11-5,11-8,11-8; Pritha Vartikar/Jennifer Varghese bt Yashaswini Ghoropade/Anargaya Manjunath (Kar) 11-7,11-4,11-8.
Quarterfinals: Risha Mirchandani/Taneesha Kotecha bt Poorvanshi Dave/Lakshya Biyani (MP) 11-4,11-7,11-5; Suhana Saini/Prithoki Chakraborty bt Trupti Purohit/Vanshika Deshana (Kar) 11-9,11-9,10-12,11-8; Pritha Vartikar/Jennifer Varghese bt Lakshita Narang/Ridhima Kapoor (Del) 11-9,11-9,9-11,13-11; Yashaswini Ghorpade/Anargaya Manjunath bt Shriya Anand/Nehal Venkatasamy (TN) 11-7,11-6,11-9.
Bronze Playoff: Yashaswini Ghorphade/Anargaya Manjunath (Kar) bt Suhana Saini/Prithoki Chakraborty (Har) 8-11, 13-11, 9-11, 11-4, 11-9.
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