Abhinn, Manjusha start favourites

PUNE, Jan 3: For a sport that has its roots in Pune, a lone National level meet scheduled by the Badminton Association of India (BAI) see...

PUNE, Jan 3: For a sport that has its roots in Pune, a lone National level meet scheduled by the Badminton Association of India (BAI) seems a raw deal. However, the only National level meet which the city plays host to — the late VV Natu memorial — attracts quite a few national stars for a simple reason. Being the last tourney of the BAI calender, since its inception, prior to the Nationals, the meet is more of a `build-up’ which most players opt for.

The meet, scheduled at the WIE Complex, in

its fifth year boast of several members from the Indian squad which did duty at the Commonwealth Games recently. The notable names include Manjusha Kanwar and Archana Deodhar from the bronze medal winning women’s squad, George Thomas, Marcose Bristow and Abhinn Shyam Gupta who assisted the country to a silver at the game.

The man’s section will have defending champion Abhinn Shyam Gupta as favourite to defend his title. Abhinn who represents Air-India, goes into the meet with a win in the Hyderabad GP and a semifinal showing in Bareilly where he was knocked out by Nikhil Kanetkar. The draw released in the evening seem to indicate a smooth going for Abhinn up to the semi-finals where he would run into No. 3 Mangrish (Railways).

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However much would depend on Abhinn who on the contrary says, had a lean season so far. “My form just seems to have deserted me. I don’t how,” he adds, and informs that he is here to gain vital practice. If Mangrish has to make it to the semis he would have to overcome opposition of the likes of Jaison Xavier, Vikrant Patwardhan and Kiran Kumar. Sachin Ratti (Railways) losing finalist here last year, has a comparatively easy passage to the semis but not in the case of Shrikant Bakshi, the No. 2 seed who would have to overcome younger opponents like Vijay Lancy — the former Indian No. 3 who is fighting for form and Parag Modi. Incidentally Vijay who has had a season similar to a sensex graph would have a mission on hand to gain back the status he earned two season back.

Notable absentees in the men’s section include Nikhil Kantekar, who prefers to “cool off,’ following a hectic season so far and Jaseel Ismail `injured,’ and Vincent Lobo.

In the distaff section, India No. 1 Manjusha Kanwar seems the best bet on paper. Incidentally for Manjusha, a triumph this year would mean her fifth Natu memorial title Pune has always been a happy hunting ground for Manjusha as it was here that she last won the National title in 1996. Other forerunners for the title include Atlanta Olympics PVV Laxmi of Andhra Pradesh, CH Deepti (Railways) and Nirmal Kotnis (Air India). Manjusha would also be in the running for a double — as she turns up with long-time partner Archana Deodhar as top seeds in the event.

The Qualifiers: A Prithvi (AP) b Kunal Waswani 14-17, 15-11, 15-6; Alok singh (Mah) b Rapheal Xavier (Ker) 15-4, 15-5; Abhishek Bakshi (Ktk) b ajit Phatak (Mah) 15-4, 15-3; S.S Kannan (TN) b B Nagraj 12-15, 15-4, 15-12; shiv Kumar (TN) b Kishor Kumar (AP) 15-7, 15-8; K Kameshbabu (AP) b Charanjit singh (AP) 13-15, 15-6, 15-8; Vivek Gautam (Mah) b Bhushan Paithankar (Mah) 15-6, 15-9; Sunil Pande (dli) b Narayan P.l (AP) 15-13, 3-15, 15-13.