Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: Goa players delivered strong performances at the Indian Masters (Veteran) National Badminton Championships currently being held in Navelim, with several shuttlers moving into the later stages of the tournament.
Parag Chauhan and Kamlesh Kanji led Goa’s charge in the Men’s Doubles 45 category, registering a hard fought quarterfinal victory over Kishor Kumar K. and R. Sheshu Narayanan. After losing the first game, the Goan pair fought back to win 12 to 21, 21 to 16, 21 to 10 and secure their place in the semifinals.
Former state champion and international medalist Sandhya Melasheemi also continued her impressive run in the competition. She advanced to the semifinals in the Women’s Singles 40 category after defeating Lalduhzuali of Mizoram 21 to 19, 21 to 14. Earlier in the tournament, she had overcome Amrita Mukherjee of West Bengal to progress further.
Melasheemi also performed well in the Women’s Doubles 40 event where she partnered Radhika Madhur Ingalhalikar of Maharashtra. The pair recorded a convincing win against Nima Lekshmy K. K. of Kerala and Laxmi Ningaiah of Karnataka to move into the quarterfinals.
In the Men’s Doubles 50 Round of 16, Sandeep Fowker and Kapil Kanji added to Goa’s strong showing with a determined three game victory against Prasanna Venkatesh A. and Ajit Samuel of Tamil Nadu. The Goan duo won the match 21 to 13, 18 to 21, 21 to 14 to advance further in the tournament.
Among other notable results, top seed Sahil Katlariya progressed to the quarterfinals in Men’s Singles 35. Swati Sharma and Noopur Barve advanced to the semifinals in Women’s Singles 35, while Harshad Bhagwat moved into the semifinals in Men’s Singles 40.
In the Men’s Singles 45 category, top seed Arup Baidya advanced comfortably. India international Jaison Xavier and Nilesh Phansalkar also progressed to the semifinals in the Men’s Singles 50 event.
