Abhinn, Laxmi end brave juniors' run

Abhinn, Laxmi end brave juniors' run
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

PUNE, JAN 3: Finally seniority prevailed over budding junior talent, as both Abhinn Shyam Gupta (PSCB) and PVV Laxmi (Andhra Pradesh) put out their respective rivals to respectively annex the men and women titles of the VIth all-India VV Natu Memorial badminton meet today.

Top seed Abhinn made it three-in-a-row with a fluent 15-3 4-15 15-8 win over Chetan Anand (Air-India), while Olympian PVV Laxmi had a much easy outing against unseeded Parul Priyadarshini and won 11-4 11-6.

The 25-year-old Laxmi, ranked 188th in the world, however was all praise for her opponent. ``She's tough and is a fighter and is a player to watch in the future.''

In the first game of the men's final, Abhinn, ranked 81 on the IBF, was all over his opponent ranked 66 places lower. In the second, after splitting six points, Chetan made his move to open a 7-3 advantage, with brilliant mid-court play and the occasional cross court smash. A net duel won by Abhinn was the only point he gained to lose 4-15. In the decider, Chetan, whootherwise played cool and calculated, looked worn out, but he kept pace with his opponent till 7-7. Abhinn thereon opened up a sound lead, and finished the 55-minute encounter with a tap onto Chetan's body.

Results (finals, prefix denotes seeding)
Men singles: 1-Abhinn Shyam Gupta (PSCB) bt 5-Chetan Anand (A-I) 15-3, 4-15, 15-8. Doubles: Jaseel Ismail/ Vincent Lobo bt Vijaydeep Singh/ Marcos Bristow 9-15 15-6 15-6.

Women's Singles: 4-PVV Laxmi (AP) b Parul Priyadarshini (Rly) 11-4, 11-6. Doubles: Archana Deodhar/ Manjusha Kanwar (PSCB) bt 1-G Jwala/ Shruti Kurien (AP) 3-15, 15-10, 15-4.

Mixed Doubles: Vincent Lobo/ Archana Deodhar (PSCB) bt Mitesh Hazarnis (Rly)/ Ketaki Thakkar (A-I) 15-3, 15-6.