CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu’s Mahipal Singh won the title at The Chennai Diamonds 2nd Chennai Open Tenpin Bowling Championships, which concluded at Let’s Bowl, Chennai, after a tense finish in the Open Division.
In the finals, played under the Challenge the Leader format, second seed Benigopal L took the opening game 208–194 against top seed Mahipal, pushing the contest into a decisive second game. Mahipal responded in style, starting with three consecutive strikes and closing with a 200–168 win to seal the championship.
Earlier in the stepladder round, third seed Anand Babu of Tamil Nadu defeated fourth seed Naveen Siddam of Telangana 222–183. In the semi-final, Benigopal Lahoti of West Bengal eased past Anand Babu 223–191 to enter the final.
In the Doubles division, Karnataka’s Parvez Ahmed and Kishan R clinched the title in dramatic fashion, edging Tamil Nadu’s Gurunathan and Soban D by just two pins with a cumulative total of 737–735. Parvez and Kishan held a one-pin lead after the first game and a final-frame strike from Kishan secured a tight 351–350 finish in the second game.
In the Grade A Division, Tamil Nadu’s Gurunathan topped the eight-game masters round with a total of 1556 pins at an average of 194.50. Anand Babu finished second with 1544 pins (avg 193.00), while Karnataka’s Sathish A V placed third with 1485 pins.
In the Grade B Division, Mohit Chauhan of Maharashtra won the masters round with 1471 pins at an average of 183.88. Kushal KS of Delhi finished second with 1429 pins (avg 178.63), and Anand Kumar R of Uttar Pradesh came third with 1407 pins (avg 175.88).
The championship delivered twelve days of high-intensity action, featuring around 95 bowlers from ten states.