Raghav thwarts Telangana sweep

Hyderabad: Haryana shuttler Raghav prevented a Telangana State sweep of the under-9, 11, 13, 15 and 17 age-group titles that were up for grabs in the PNB MetLife Junior Badminton Championship Season 3 that concluded on a spectacular note at Bhaskar Babu Badminton Academy here on Saturday.

Raghav made mincemeat of G Abhinay Sairam to clinch the Under-13 boy’s title 21-13, 21-13. Although, local contender Koya Sai Charan did not sweat much against D Sarath while posting a comprehensive 21-11, 21-13 win for the Under-17 boy’s title, the girl’s final was a closely contested affair.

Uthsava Palit lost the second game but recovered in time to defeat Priya Konjengbam 21-11, 17-21, 21-9 in the title clash.
Later, Rajiv Puri, Circle Head (Hyd), Punjab National Bank gave away the prizes in the presence of former Chief Justice of Hyderabad High Court, G Chandraiah and former national coach Bhaskar Babu.

The tournament, which will next move to Guwahati, was organized by Sara Foundation. Results: All singles finals-(TS wherever not mentioned) Under-9-Boys: Prabhas Vadlamudi bt G Nikhil 21-14, 21-5; Girls: Spoorthy R bt Nikitha Dodda 21-5, 21-2; Under-11: Boys: AR Rohan Kumar bt Pranav Vallathoor 6-21, 21-16, 21-18; Girls: Navya Kanderi bt Vijaya Gracy Dhanala 15-21, 21-12, 21-11;

Under-13-Boys: Raghav (Haryana) bt G Abhinay Sairam 21-13, 21-13; Girls: Hothrisri Thatigutla bt Amulya Jaiswal 21-16, 21-16; Under-15: Boys: Bezawada Gireesh Nayudu bt Manav Choudhary (Haryana) 21-15, 21-16; Girls: K Maheshwari Devi bt P Shwetha16-21, 21-15, 21-16; Under-17: Boys: Koya Sai Charan bt D Sarath 21-11, 21-13; Girls: Uthsava Palit bt Priya Konjengbam 21-11, 17-21, 21-9.