Ashwani-Nitya win girls doubles crown

Panchkula, Nov 30 (UNI) Showing perfect coordination, Ashwani Ponnappa and Nitya Sosale annexed the junior girls doubles crown at the expense of G M Nischita and V Ruthmisha 21-19, 21-17 in an all-Karnataka final of the Rs two lakh Junior National Badminton Championship at the Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex today.

The final lasted just 23 minutes.

It was smooth sailing for Ashwani and Nitya as they raced to 21-19 verdict in the first game. They had taken a 6-3 lead in the initial stages and continued to increase their lead to 9-4, 13-8 and 19-12 before winning the game to gain a 1-0 lead G M Nishita and V Ruthmisha reorganised their game and jumped to an 8-4 lead which they increased to 10-7. Both pairs fought spiritedly for every point. Trailing 11-14, Ashwani and Nitya bounced back into the game by reeling off three successive points to make it 15-16.

They overtook their rivals at 20-17 by winning four points in a row and then won at 21-17.

The mixed doubles trophy went to Ram C Vijay of Kerala and P Jyotsna of Andhra Pradesh who defeated K Vikranth Kumar (AP) and Priya (Tamil Nadu) 21-11, 21-16.

Smashing powerfully and placing the ball in the vacant spots, it was smooth sailing for Vijay and Jyotsna as they won seven points in a row for a 7-0 lead in the first game.

The Kerala-AP pair then won it 21-16.

Vikranth and Priya put up good resistance in the second game but went down fighting after trailing by just two points (16-18) at one stage. Vijay-Jyotsna won the second game at 21-16 to claim the match and title. The mixed doubles final lasted 21 minutes.

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