Tamil Nadu & Maharashtra pairs claim doubles gold
Rajgir, May 8 (UNI) P.B. Abhinand and M.R. Balamurugan of Tamil Nadu overcame an early setback to clinch the Boys' Doubles gold medal at the Under-18 Khelo India Youth Games on Day 3 here on Thursday.
Despite dropping the opening game and trailing 5-8 in the third, the top-seeded duo showed remarkable grit and composure to turn the match around, eventually defeating Assam's
Priyanuj Bhattacharyya and Divyaj Rajkhowa Roy 3-1 in a tense final at Hall No. 1.
Earlier in the day, Maharashtra's Kavya Bhatt and Divyanshi Bhowmick produced a clinical display
to secure the Girls' Doubles gold. In an imperious form throughout the tournament, the pair dispatched West Bengal's Subhankrita Datta and Avisha Karmakar 3-0 to cap a dominant campaign.
In the bronze medal playoff, Atherva Gupta and Sarthak Arya of Delhi staged a spirited comeback after a tense tussle against Kushal Chopda and Sharveya Samant of Maharashtra. The Delhi duo initially held a comfortable 6-2 lead, only to see their opponents claw back and level the score at 6-6.
However, Gupta and Arya held their nerve when it mattered most, capitalising on crucial errors from the Maharashtra pair, who squandered three game points that could have tilted the third game in their favour. Ultimately, the Delhi boys sealed a 3-1 victory to claim the bronze.
In the girls' final, Maharashtra's Kavya Bhatt and Divyanshi Bhowmick delivered a commanding performance to capture the gold, defeating West Bengal's Subhankrita Datta and Avisha Karmakar
in straight games.
Despite the Bengal pair's impressive semifinal upset of the top-seeded Tamil Nadu duo M. Hansini and Ananya Muralidharan, they struggled to maintain that momentum against the clever left-and-right combination of Kavya and Divyanshi.
The West Bengal paddlers briefly threatened in a closely fought second game but failed to close it out, allowing the Maharashtra pair to maintain control and clinch the title.
Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu pair of Hansini and Ananya, who had enjoyed a bye in the quarterfinals but faltered in the semifinals, regained some ground in the bronze medal playoff. The duo overcame Suhani Mahajan and Avani Tripathi of Uttar Pradesh with a composed display.
Though the UP pair mounted a spirited challenge, pushing the second game into extra points, the Tamil Nadu girls' consistency proved decisive as they wrapped up the match in straight games to secure a podium finish.
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