INDIA KICKSTARTS WITH TEAM WHITEWASH AT THE SAF GAMES

India wasted little time in picking up a ‘double’ in the Team Events of the 11^th SAF Games in Dhaka. The nation had dominated badminton in all previous occasions, and its seriousness at maintaining that record was already evident when the team list for the Games was announced.

Except for the ranked Saina Nehwal, India was represented by its strongest lineup. Probably the reasons could be two-fold - to ensure that both the men and the ladies returned home with Gold medals, and also a show of solidarity among members of the South Asia nations to give credibility to the Games by having the best and the strongest participate in them.

National champions Chetan Anand and Trupti Murgunde led the Indian charge and dominated at every stage of the competition at the Wooden Floor Gymnasium. Both the men and the ladies received bye in the first round and met Sri Lanka in the Final and romped home with identical 3-0 wins.

The ladies trio of Trupti, Sayali Gokhale and P.C. Tulasi earned India’s first gold, while the men led by Anand, Guru Sai Dutt and Aditya Prakash eased through for the second.

Sayali set the stage for an Indian whitewashed when she brushed aside the challenge of Sri Lanka’s top player Thilini Jayasinghe 21-4, 21-11 in 23 minutes.

Trupti then spent a mere 3 minutes more to demolish Renu Hettiarachchige 21-9, 21-13. The formality of completing the rout fell to Thulasi who was equal to the task with an effortless 21-13, 21-17 win over Achini Rathnasiri in 26 minutes.

Played to best of five matches, the remaining Doubles became inconsequential.

In the wake of that success, an inspired Men’s team stamped its authority on the islanders led by the Karunaratne brothers, Niluka and Dinuka.

Taking to the court first, Anand started off slow but picked up momentum as the game progressed and strolled to a 21-12, 21-18 win over Niluka. Younger brother Dinuka fared no better against Guru Sai Dutt, losing 8-21, 18-21 in 33 minutes.

India’s Gold Medal winning point came from Aditya Prakash who carved out a 21-10, 21-15 win over Nuwan Hettiarachchi.

Just like the girls, the Indian men did not have to play the Doubles match after their unassailable 3-0 lead.