Sagar, Neha emerge singles champions

Mumbai: Title-favourites Sagar Chopda and Neha Pandit stamped their superiority in the first Maharashtra State Selection Badminton Tournament by brushing aside their rivals in straight games in the singles finals. Chopda of Mumbai Suburban overcame third seed Eshan Naqvi of Thane 21-15, 21-16 in the men`s final that lasted only 35 minutes, while Pune lass Neha prevailed over unseeded Tanvi Lad of Greater Mumbai 21-13, 21-18 in a 30-minute women`s summit-clash at the Matunga Gymkhana. Chopda, back from a stint in chilly Russia prior to this tournament, showed no difficulty in adopting to the humid conditions here and uncorked repeated winners against Naqvi once he recovered from a 4-6 deficit in the opening game. It was a cakewalk for the top seed in the second game as he raced to a 6-1 lead. As Naqvi was forced into errors, Chopda stayed comfortably ahead and clinched the game and the match when Naqvi hit wide at match point. Neha unleashed a slew of forehand crosscourt drops that won her most the points against Tanvi in the women`s final. After being brushed aside by her more fancied opponent in the first game, Tanvi fought back by surging to a 13-9 lead in the second as Neha lapsed into errors. The more experienced Neha quickly got her rhythm back to draw level at 14 and then take a 20-18 lead. Pressure got to Tanvi at this point and she hit wide to lose the clash. Prasad Shetty and Aditya Pandya of Mumbai Suburban won the men`s doubles title, while Jui Agaskar (Mumbai Suburban) and Sanyogita Ghorpade (Pune) bagged the women`s doubles crown. Results (Finals): Men: Sagar Chopda (Mumbai Suburban) bt Eshan Naqvi (Thane) 21-15, 21-16. Doubles: Prasad Shetty/Aditya Pandya (Mum Sub) bt Mayur Tawde/Nikhil Kolhatkar 21-16, 21-13. Women: Neha Pandit (Pune) bt Tanvi Lad (Greater Mumbai) 21-13, 21-18. Doubles: Jui Agaskar (Mum Sub)/Sanyogita Ghorpade (Pune) bt Kadambari Cheda (Mum Sub)/Varda Dixit (Nagpur) 21-15. 21-18. PTI