Aditi-Nikkita finish runners-up; Prajwal bags triple crown in State sub-junior badminton

NAGPUR: The impressive run of Aditi Sadhankar and Nikkita Joseph was halted in the U-15 girls doubles final of the Maharashtra Sub-Junior (U-13 & U-15) State Selection Badminton tournament which concluded at the Divisional Sports Complex in Nashik on Friday.
In a well-contested summit clash, top seeds Rhucha Sawant and Riya Habbu of Pune quelled the spirited challenge of second seeded Nagpur pair of Aditi and Nikkita 21-15, 21-18 in 27 minutes.
Aditi, a student of Centre Point School, Dabha, and Nikkita, a student of Modern School Koradi, tried hard but could not stop the Pune duo. After losing the first game at 15-21, Aditi and Nikkita fought hard in the second game in their bid to level the game scores. However, city pair could not handle the pressure in crunch situations and succumbed.
It was second consecutive defeat for Aditi-Nikkita against the same opponents. In the first sub-junior state tourney held last month at Mulund in Mumbai, fourth seeds Aditi and Nikkita were beaten by third seeds Rhucha and Riya 18-21, 9-21 in the final.
Prajwal Sonawane emerged as the star of the tournament as the promising shuttler bagged triple crown with an outstanding show.
Maharashtra Badminton Association (MBA) senior vice-president Pradeep Gandhe, MBA secretary Sundar S Shetty, Nashik District Badminton Association (NDBA) president RK Mundada, organizing secretary Anant Joshi, Sanjay Rajan, chief referee of the tournament Vivek Saraf, match controller Parag Ekande, district sports officer Jaiprakash Duble and other NDBA officials were present during the prize distribution ceremony.
RESULTS (FINALS)
U-13 boys singles: 1-Prajwal Sonawane bt 2-Om Gavandi 21-11, 21-11
U-15 girls singles: 2-Rhucha Sawant bt 1-Riya Habbu 21-15, 12-21, 22-20
U-15 boys singles: Prajwal Sonawane bt Tejas Shinde 21-17, 21-17
U-15 girls doubles: 1-Rhucha Sawant-Riya Habbu bt 2-Aditi Sadhankar-Nikkita Joseph 21-15, 21-18
U-13 boys doubles: 1-Om Gavandi-Prajwal Sonawane bt Sharman Ghube-Vedant Natu 21-11, 21-12
U-13 girls singles: 1-Aalisha Naik bt Sanika Patankar 18-21, 21-13, 21-18
U-10 girls singles: Riya Vinherkar bt Juie Jadhav 21-15, 21-15
U-13 girls doubles: 1-Aalisha Naik-Madhumita Narayan bt Shravani Walekar-Varada Ekande 21-17, 19-21, 21-8
U-10 boys singles: Avadhut Kadam bt Soneesh Singh 21-9, 21-10
U-15 boys doubles: 1-Arya Thakore-Dhruv Thakore bt 2-Pratham Wani-Tejas Shinde 21-16, 21-7.