Pune: In a final face-off that put India opposite France, Tharun Mannepalli and Varun Trikha both won their doubles and singles matches as India ‘A’ Boys scored a crucial 3-2 win to finish in silver position in the Selected Boys Group 1 category in the ISF World School Badminton Championship in the Badminton Hall of the Balewadi Sports Complex here on Sunday.
The Indian pair of Tharun Mannepalli and Varun Trikha defeated the French duo of Lailana Ramnana Rahary and Martin Quazzen 21-16, 26-24 to level the scores after Rituporna Bora and Paras Mathur had opened the final league match on a losing note.
Rituporna and Paras lost to Kenji Lovang and William Villeger 13-21, 21-23 to leave the Indian camp little worried as the two teams began the contest with four wins each after having played five league matches.
In this must win match, winner was assured of the silver medal after Chinese Taipei clinched the gold following their all-win record from the six league matches they played over the last three days.
With the scores levelled at 1-1, Tharun defeated Leo Van Gysel 21-17, 17-21, 21-7 in three games before Varun clinched the issue for India ‘A’ by beating Martin Quazzen 17-21, 27-25, 21-15. In the inconsequential final singles match Monimugdha Rajkonwar lost to William Villeger 12-21, 21-15, 14-21.
India ‘A’ had lost to Chinese Taipei and scored wins over China, Brazil, United Arab Emirates and India ‘B’.
Following the win, Tharun Mannepalli explained “I was not disappointed after game one, I just focussed on my game and played my natural game and completed a victory. In doubles me and Varun were better team.”
In the Selected Girls category, India ‘A’ team faced reverse against China and lost 1-4 in the semifinal. It was Nikita, who scored the lone win in the third singles, a 21-7, 21-19 victory over China’s Leer Xie.
In the second semifinal, Chinese Taipei blanked France 5-0 to storm into the final against their arch-rivals China. The final will be played on Tuesday after a day’s rest on Monday.
Only the first doubles contest between En Tzu Hung and Hsin Pei Tsai of Chinese Taipei and the French pairing of Ainoa Desmos and Juliette Moinard went to the distance. The Chinese Taipei pair won 22-24, 21-17, 21-16.
The remaining all matches, the second doubles and three singles ties were an one-sided contests that the Taiwanese girls won without breaking much sweat.
On Tuesday, India ‘A’ girls will be looking to at least win a medal when they take on France in the play-off for the third place.
Results:
Selected Boys:
Group 1:
India beat France 3-2: Rituporna Bora and Paras Mathur lost to Kenji Lovang and William Villeger13-21, 21-23; Tharun Mannepalli and Varun Trikha bt Lailana Ramnana Rahary and Martin Quazzen 21-16, 26-24, 21-19; Tharun Mannepalli lost to Leo Van Gysel 21-17, 17-21, 21-7; Varun Trikha bt Martin Quazzen 17-21, 27-25, 21-15; Monimugdha Rajkonwar lost to William Villeger 12-21, 21-15, 14-21.
Chinese Taipei beat China 4-1: Ssu Wei Hou and Po Wei Su bt Zhi Ding and Jiajun Liu 21-13, 21-9; Ching Sheng Chang and Chen Yu Sun bt Yufeng Cao and Haoyin Wang 21-17, 19-21, 21-16; Cheng En Wu bt Zhi Ding 21-11, 21-8; Chen Yu Sun lost to Yufeng Cao 18-21, 19-21; Ching Sheng Chang bt Haoyin Wang 21-7, 21-18.
Selected Girls:
China beat India ‘A’ 4-1: Jinger Zhang and Shuya Zheng bt Sivapriya Kalaiyarasi M and Chimran Kalita 21-6, 21-9; Luoyu Wu and Wenyan Zhang bt Nikita and Anjana Kumari 21-17, 21-12; Luoyu Wu bt Chimran Kalita 21-10, 21-16; Shuya Zheng bt Anjana Kumari 21-11, 19-21, 21-15; Leer Xie lost to Nikita 7-21, 19-21.
Chinese Taipei beat France 5-0: En Tzu Hung and Hsin Pei Tsai bt Ainoa Desmons and Juliette Moinard 22-24, 21-17, 21-16; Yu Pei Cheng and Chia Wei Liang bt Sharone Bauer and Charlotte Ganci 21-12, 21-8; Sih Yun Lin bt Marig Brouxel 21-16, 21-11; En Tzu Hung bt Ainoa Desmons 21-16, 21-13; Hsin Pei Tsai bt Juliette Moinard 21-14, 21-6.
