PANAJI
Goa’s men and women badminton teams put up a spirited performance but that was not enough for them to find a spot on the medals podium in the 37th National Games at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee stadium here on Friday.
Both the teams went into their final round-robin clash needing a win to finish second in their respective groups and be assured of a bronze medal.
With a good number of supporters cheering them from the stands, the men’s team pushed the formidable Assam in two singles and one doubles match but the lack of experience probably made the difference in the final analysis.
Goa’s hopes of a medal were raised when H Arunesh got the better of Iman Sonowal 21-14, 20-22, 21-17 in 41 minutes after Ayan Shaikh had gone down 9-21, 7-21 against Orijit Chaliha in the opening singles.
Arunesh then teamed up with Tejan Fallary in the first men’s doubles and pushed their more illustrious opponent in both games but mistakes at crucial junctures proved to be their undoing as they lost 19-21, 19-21 in 34 minutes.
The team’s hopes then depended on Rahul Deswal, who took on Tonmay Bikash Boruah in the third singles.
To his credit, Deswal played his heart out as he forced a decider after losing the opening game. But Boruah mixed things up in the third and final game to register a 21-17, 17-21, 21-10 in 48 minutes to end Goa’s hopes of a medal.
Earlier, the women’s team had their task cut out after their first group game against Punjab on Thursday when Anjani Kumari suffered an unfortunate injury and the team lost the match. On Friday, Maharashtra proved just too strong in the final analysis.
Sakshi Kurbhegli, who had given Goa a winning start against Punjab, went down 14-21, 11-21 against Purva Barve and Shruti Mundada then defeated Anura Prabhudesai 21-19, 21-11 to end Goa’s hopes of a possible fightback.
Goa eventually lost the group game 0-5 to end their campaign without a win.
On Saturday, Maharashtra will be looking to clinch both the men and women team gold medals. In the men’s category, they will take on Karnataka while their women’s team will face Assam.
