Flying Gravity books berth in semi-finals of the Tamil Nadu Badminton League

The tie could have gone either way as both teams were locked at 2 games apiece making the mixed doubles match a virtual winner-takes-all. The Flying Gravity duo of Velavan and Poornima made it a damp squib as they defeated Manasseh and Chandana 156, 15-11 to clinch the match. Earlier, Akshaya Arumugam of Flying Gravity brought her team back into the contest when she enjoyed a facile 157, 15-12 win over Praveena. 

In the evening’s second match, Jhaver Smashers trounced Lanson Knights 5-0. Despite losing the opening game in its first two matches, Smashers didn’t lose its composure as it bounced back strongly to claim the next two games. 

In the women’s singles left-hander N Dhanyaa of Smashers dropped the first game to Arul Bala at 13-15. Dhanyaa raced to an early lead of 9-2 in the second game on the back of some fierce smashes down the line. Being light on her feet helped her cover the court easily. 

The third game was a see-saw affair as both Dhanyaa and Bala traded the opening six points. Just when it looked like the match would go down to the wire, Dhanyaa lifted her game by many notches to win it 15-12.

Results: Flying Gravity bt Chennai Shuttle Kings 3-2(Women Singles: Akshaya Arumugam bt Praveena 157,15-12; Men Singles: Kishore S lost to Kevin Arokiya Walter 15-12,14-15,12-15; Men Doubles: Mohan Raj/Bhuvanesh bt Mohanakrishnan RS/Harshan RN 15-9,13-15,15-9; Jr Boys Doubles: Vikash Prabhu/Arun Sreevatsan lost to Rithvik Sanjivee/Koushik 13-15,12-15; Mixed Doubles: Poornima Cheruku/Velavan bt Manasseh/Chandana 15-6,15-11). Jhaver Smashers bt Lanson Knights 5-0 (Mixed Doubles: Varshath/Thanushree R bt Nazeer Khan/Ramya Thulasi 13-15,15-13,15-8; Women Singles: Dhanyaa bt Arul Bala 13-15,15-10,15-12; Jr Boys Doubles: Srayas/Murugappa bt Kawin Thangam/Anirudh P 15-7,15-5; Men Doubles: Senthil Vel/Lokesh Vishwanathan bt Mohamed Rehan/Balamanikandan 15-13,6-15,15-7; Men Singles: Naveen P bt Kaveen Dharanirajan 15-9,15-12)