Jaipur: Sneha Lamba of Jaipur bagged her maiden double crown as the week-long Rajasthan State Ranking Badminton Championship concluded at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium’s Indoor Badminton Hall here on Wednesday.Seventeen-year-old Sneha, who was in line for a triple crown, narrowly missed creating history by losing the women’s doubles final in a hard-fought three-game encounter.However, the Jaipur teenager reigned supreme in singles by sweeping both the women’s and U-19 titles.Top seed Sneha lived up to her billing by steamrolling fifth seed Anandita Tamra 15-11, 16-7 in the women’s singles without much difficulty.However, she was stretched to her limits in the U-19 girls singles by Ritika Jhamnani. The Kota girl surprised Sneha by clinching the opening game 15-13. In the second game too, Ritika was in control and poised to run away with the match.But Sneha changed her tactics towards the end of the game which turned the complexion of the match.
Winners and runners-up of various categories pose with their medals and certificates during the prize distribution function of the Rajasthan State Ranking Badminton Championship in Jaipur on Wednesday
Staging a brilliant comeback, Sneha grabbed the game 15-13 to force a decider. Once she won the second game, Sneha looked quite confident and dominated her rival to clinch the third and deciding game 15-8.“I was a bit defensive in the first game. But I realised it wont work. Then I started attacking more. It worked in my favour. I also made better placements and hit the shuttle away from her. I am happy to bag a double crown,” Sneha told TOI after her triumph.Besides Sneha, Shubham Patel of Alwar, Bhanu Pratap of Jaipur, Kavya Swami of Bikaner, and Saril Chaudhary of Tonk also bagged twin titles each.Shubham thrashed Bhuvan Singh 15-8, 15-2 in the men’s singles final to win the title. He then teamed up with Danish Srivastava to claim his second title by dismissing Bhuvan Singh and Ayush 15-9, 15-8 in the men’s doubles final.In the final of U-19 boys singles, Vishal Choudhary edged past Shreyansh Choudhary 17-15, 15-13, 15-7 to become the champion.In the U-19 boys doubles, Bhanu Pratap Singh and Jaivardhan Singh of Jaipur pocketed the title by beating Mantra Agarwal and Nitish of Udaipur. Whereas in U-19 mixed doubles, the pair of Bhanu Pratap and Kavya Swami achieved golden success by defeating the pair of Manas and Mokshita of Jodhpur. With this, Bhanu Pratap won two titles.Bikaner’s Kavya Swami achieved double success by winning the Under-19 girls doubles and mixed doubles titles. Tonk’s Saril Chaudhary also performed brilliantly in the Under-19 girls doubles and mixed doubles, capturing the twin title. In the mixed doubles final, Tonk’s Murali and Shairil Choudhary pair downed Bikaner’s Jagrut Binani and Kavya Swami 15-9, 15-12.In the women’s doubles final, the pair of Aaradhya Jora and Deshna Jain of the Jaipur Sports Academy, Vaishali Nagar rallied back splendidly to upset Sneha Lamba and Utsava Palet 9-15, 15-7, 15-12.However, in the Under-19 girls’ doubles final, the same pair lost to Kavya Swami of Bikaner and Saril Chaudhary of Tonk 16-14, 11-15, 10-15.Malviya Nagar MLA Kalicharan Saraf, the chief guest at the closing ceremony, presented medals, certificates, and cash prizes to the winners and runners-up. Congratulating the players, he said that discipline, consistent practice, and hard work are the keys to success in sports. He also encouraged other players to work harder and prepare for future competitions.Speaking at the event, Rajasthan Badminton Association secretary KK Sharma stated that the Rajasthan team for the North Zone competition to be held in Bhilwara will be announced soon. A special training camp will also be organised for the selected players under the guidance of former national coach Sanjeev Sachdeva.On this occasion, several officials including selection committee chairperson JP Bhatt, Kota District Badminton Association treasurer Zakir Hussain, Rajasthan Badminton Association vice president Manoj Dasot were present. Finally, organising secretary Atul Gupta and vice-president Manoj Dasot expressed their gratitude to the players, coaches, parents, umpires, and all officials for their cooperation in making the competition a success.Results (All Finals)Men’s singles: 2-Shubham Patel bt 3-Bhuvan Singh 15-8, 15-2Women’s singles: 1-Sneha Lamba bt 5-Anandita Tamra 15-11, 15-7Men’s doubles: Denis Shriwastwa-Shubham Patel bt 3-Ayush Bhamu-Bhuvan Singh 15-9, 15-8Women’s doubles: 3-Aaradhya Jodha-Deshna Jain bt 1-Sneha Lamba-Utsava Palit 9-15, 15-7, 15-12Mixed doubles: Murli Sharma-Shairil Choudhary bt 2-Jaagrit Binnani-Kavya Swami 15-9, 15-12U-19 boys singles: Q-Vishal Choudhary bt Q-Shreyansh Choudhary 17-15, 13-15, 15-7U-19 girls singles: Sneha Lamba bt Ritika Jhamnani 13-15, 15-13, 15-6U-19 boys doubles: 2-Bhanu Pratap-Jayvardhan Singh bt 1-Mantra Agrawal-Nidhish Bhadviya 15-4, 15-9U-19 girls doubles: 2-Kavya Swami-Shairil Choudhary bt 3-Aaradhya Jodha-Deshna Jain 16-14, 11-15, 15-10U-19 mixed doubles: 1-Bhanu Pratap Singh-Kavya Swami bt 2-Manas Gehlot-Mokshita Bhardwaj 10-15, 15-12, 15-4.
