Todiwalla, Jani snatch thrillers

Sean Todiwalla stormed into the boys’ under10 semi-finals, while Parth Jani made it to the boys’ under-13 quarter-finals following nailbiting wins, in the CCI-GMBA badminton championship, at the Cricket Club of India, on Monday. The duo lit up the second day of the competition with sparking come-frombehind wins as Todiwalla quelled the determined challenge of Rayess Surti for a 21-19, 21-19 win and Jani overcame the spirited resistance of Prateek Bhomadiya 12-15, 15-9, 15-14 in edge-of-the-seat contests. Bhomadiya got off to a dream start by snatching the opening game after winning six points in a row while trailing 9-12. Jani forced the decider in quick time after leading 12-9 to set the stage for a humdinger. Jani raced to match point at 14-9 and believed it was all over when Bhomadiya gave him anxious moments by grabbing five points in a row, until a winner terminated a gripping contest that coud have gone either way. Sean Todiwalla also lived dangerously after resting on a 13-4 and 15-7 cushion in the opening game before Surti won seven points in a row to close in at 14-15. Surti’s brilliant recovery triggered a neck-andneck batte in the next haf hour as Todiwalla won the game after 19-all. Surti went up 8-6 in the second game until Todiwalla won four points on the trot for a 10-8 advantage. Surti fought his way back to wrest the lead at 19-17 to keep his hopes alive, before Todiwalla ended his campaign by snatching four points in a row.