Bilawala, Daga duo clinch men’s 45+ doubles title
Top seeds Ayaz Bilawala and Shailesh Daga, both of Greater Mumbai District, struck a perfect combination and went on to defeat compatriots and third seeds Vilas Kuvale and Yogesh Padukone 2112, 21-11 in the men’s 45+ doubles final of the ‘Badminton 45’ Senior State Veterans Badminton Selection Tournament – 2018, conducted by the Maharashtra Badminton Association and hosted by the Bombay Gymkhana.
Daga went on to clinch the men’s 45 singles crown as well. The second-seeded Daga overcame a strong challenge from unseeded Ashutosh Pednekar also from Greater Mumbai by pulling off a 21-9, 15-21, 21-18 victory in a long-drawn final.
Former Indian doubles specialist Leroy D’Sa partnering Gautam Ashra won the men’s 60+ double title. The Greater Mumbai pair of D’Sa and Ashra forced the pace and dictated the rallies to come through against the Mumbai Suburban duo of Anil Kulkarni and Vivek Patil winning at 21-14, 21-14.
In the mixed doubles action, the Mumbai Suburban pairing and second seeds Upendra Fadnis and Nisha Springett defeated the topseeded combo of Pune’s Amit and Mumbai Suburban’s Deanne Rodrigues by posting a 2115, 21-16 win in the mixed 40+ doubles finals.
The Greater Mumbai combination of Ashutosh Pednekar and Naheed Divecha bagged the mixed 45+ doubles crown as they beat the comnined pairing of Vilas Kuvale (Greater Mumbai) and Dimple Sinha (Pune) 2113, 21-18.