Viplav Kuvale snatch win

Second seed Viplav Kuvale endured anxious moments before snatching an exciting 2119, 13-21, 21-18 win over CCI’s Jaidev Menon to enter the men’s semi-finals, in the CCIGMBA badminton championship, at the Cricket Club of India,on Friday. Kuvale, of ESIC, will take on Mishil Shah who halted Siddhesh Raut 2725, 21-14 following a gripping first game where Raut squandered five game points. Top seed Nigel D’Sa of Customs subdued Akshay Pawar 21-11, 21-8 and will face Yash Tiwari in the other semi-final. Menon later made amends by advancing to the boys’ under-19 final where he takes on unseeded Siddesh Raut who shocked second seed Pratik Tiwari in straight games. Top seed Riya Arolkar, who won a 50 minute encounter over Hrissha Dubey of CCI, will play second seed Rudra Rane in the girls’ under19 championship round. He sailed to a 7-3 advantage in the decider and though Kuvale drew level, raced to an envious 14-8 cushion with an impressive combination of breathtaking returns from the corners of the court, powerful forehand smashes and the occasional drop.

Backed by a vociferous home crowd, Menon remained on course for a significant upset when his troubles began. Kuvale crept back with five points on the trot for 14-all and the pressure started to tell on Menon who began committing unforced errors in his bid to end the match quickly. The experienced Kuvale, who relied on a repertoire of strokes that included dribbles and cross court returns at the net, seized the opportunity and surged to 18-15 that quelled Menon’s challenge.