Double delight for Mittal

Pankaj Mittal held the spotlight by claiming a double by winning the masters +35 doubles as well as masters and seniors doubles title in the First Gulati Editions Cup Badminton Tournament organised by Badminton Players Welfare Club at the Sector 42 Badminton Hall on Sunday.

In the masters +35 doubles final,Pankaj Mittal and Gurpreet Singh,after losing the first game at 18-21,reorganised their game and staged a rally to turn their deficit into profit by winning the next two games. In the third and deciding game,Pankaj and Gurpreet were leading 19-11 before plucky Rajinder Chawla and Rajeev Mehta rallied and unreeled seven points in a row to make a close affair. Rajeev committed two errors which tilted the balance in favour of Pankaj and Gurpreet. First Gurpreet hit a cross court shot wide and then netted a return and their opponents won at 23-21. Pankaj and Gurpreet had won the second game at 21-19. The final lasted 47 minutes.

The masters and seniors final was also a well-contested affair with Pankaj Mittal and Mahip Singh ending the challenge of Vikas Mahajan and Rajeev Mehta by 18-21,21-16,21-17.

Story continues below this ad

Madan Lal Gulati of Gulati Editions distributed the prizes. Speaking on the occasion,he promised to make the tournament an annual feature.

Results:
(All finals):Masters +35 doubles: Pankaj Mittal and Gurmeet Singh bt Rajinder Chawla and Rajeev Mehta 18-21,21-19,23-21; Masters and seniors doubles: Pankaj Mittal and Mahip bt Vikas Mahajan and Rajeev Mehta 18-21,21-16,21-17.