St Ann’s shuttlers top

A masterly display that was given finishing touches by the country’s best known name after Saina Nehwal was enough to spur the shuttlers from St Ann's Degree College for Women, Mehdipatnam, to annex the coveted Inter-Collegiate Badminton Tournament for Women 2013- 2014 at the Osmania University Indoor Stadium.

The tournament conducted on a league-cum-knockout basis between teams drawn into four pools had some exciting matches while many were lopsided 2-0 drubbings.

A feature of the tournament was that P V Sindhu, fresh from receiving the Arjuna award, turned up for her institution, which also hosted the event. It was a remarkable gesture considering that given her new-found stature (a singles bronze at the World Championship) none would have grudged had she opted out. Even her presence and cheering from outside the courts would have provided the impetus to St Ann’s girls to go for the kill. That she decided to play was enough of an inspiration for the players around.

The final against St Francis College for Women, Begumpet, was an anti-climax because the eventual champion cruised with a 2-0 verdict. Sindhu scored an easy 2-0 win over Purnima while her teammate, Meghana also registered an emphatic 2-0 victory over Krupali.

Later, Dr Antony Mary, Principal of St Ann's College for Women, distributed prizes. Dr K Deepla, Secretary, Inter-Collegiate Tournaments for Women and Vimala Reddy were present on the occasion.

Results-Final: St Ann's College for Women, Mehdipatnam bt St Francis College for Women, Begumpet 2-0 (P V Sindhu bt Purnima 2-0, Meghana bt Krupali 2-0); Play-off: CBIT Gandipet bt Kasturba Gandhi College for Women 2-0.