Kush, a standard IV ML Jasudben student, fought back after losing the first game 0-15; while Madhura, another fourth grader from St Anne's, Fort led 11-3 7-0 before losing the second game 9-11. Despite lusty crowd support for her opponent, she went on to outlast Vinita Ghate of IES 13-12 in the decider.

These pulsating finishes set the tone for the main act, the junior boys final, the protagonists of which were St Pius' Sagar Chopda and Jamnabai's Anand Pawar. Four times they had clashed earlier; each had won twice. Which of the duo, the reigning state midgets doubles champion, would prevail today?

Sagar did. But in a singularly melodramatic fashion.

Anand took an early 10-0 lead, and won thefirst game 15-5. ``I was surprised to see myself 0-10 down. His low service and tactical play unnerved me. I had planned a defensive game but he played slow and used the drop very well,'' Sagar said after the match.

After some advice from coach Ravi Kunte, Sagar switched to a faster mode, and took the second game 15-11 and led 12-11 in the decider. Anand won back serve, when Sagar took ill. Last year, when the two had met in the sub-junior finals, and Sagar led 15-14 in the second game, he had vomited on court. Today he did it again. The match was held up, much to the chagrin of the Anand camp. Anand's mother Sujata Pawar protested, saying the delay could break Anand's rhythm. When play resumed, Anand won two points to lead 13-12. But Sagar won back serve and served out for a 15-13 win.

The lion-hearted Anand was to provide us with more drama. He was soon back to play the opening singles in the team finals, against IES' Swapnil Vyavaharkar, who won the seniors singles title easily. He stretched Swapnil inboth games, before bowing out 11-15 12-15. But his sense of responsibility, that of taking Jamnabai's burden on his tired and slender frame, was impressive. He lost two matches, but won many hearts.

The other finals were one-sided fillers: Riddhi Panjwani retained her sub-junior girls title, Nikita Hurkadli drubbed defending champion Ramya Venkat to claim the senior girls title, while Shivani Mayekar and Ajay Jayaram crowned themselves junior girls and sub-junior boys champions.

The loudest cheers were reserved for IES, which made a clean sweep of the team championships. The boys defeated Jamnabai 2-0, while the girls prevailed over holders JB Vachha 2-1.

Results (all finals)

BOYS (Seniors): Swapnil Vyavaharkar (IES) bt Sushil Sawant (Antonio) 15-6 15-2; Juniors: Sagar Chopda (Pius) bt Anand Pawar (Jamnabai) 5-15 15-11 15-13; Sub-juniors: Ajay Jayaram (OLPS) bt Rohit Sadani (Gyan Kendra) 15-6 15-11; Midgets: Kush Munim (Jasudben) bt Harsh Jhaveri (Cathedral) 0-15 15-1315-12

Team Championship: IES bt Jamnabai 2-0

GIRLS (Seniors): Nikita Hurkadli (Joseph's, Bandra) bt Ramya Venkat (JB Vachha) 11-5 11-3; Juniors: Shivani Mayekar (IES) bt Amrita Sawant (MES) 11-6 11-0; Sub-juniors: Riddhi Panjwani (AVM, Santacruz) bt Maitreyee Nigwekar (Convent Girls) 11-1 11-0; Midgets: Madhura Paranjpe (Anne's, Fort) bt Vinita Ghate (IES) 11-3 9-11 13-12

Team Championship: IES bt JB Vachha 2-1