PANAJI
After a lengthy break in sports, Goa was host to a sporting event that was refreshingly different. Enthu Cutlets, the World’s largest social networking group of badminton enthusiasts, in collaboration with Panjim Badminton Club, an affiliated unit of Goa Badminton Association, organised their annual get-together cum badminton event at multipurpose stadium, Peddem, Mapusa, where players (35+ and above) competed in a league team format.
After three days of intense competition, Darklords, led by Goa’s Kamlesh Kanji, emerged champions of the event, edging out Mischievous Mammoths 147-140 in a pulsating contest. The third-place match was won by Atomic Blasters who defeated Royal Lions with a similar 147-140 scoreline. Prizes worth Rs 1.2 lakhs were presented to various winners of the four-day event.
National medallists such as Sandhya Melasheemi, Ashutosh Pednekar, S Banu, Bibhash Chatterjee, Sandeep Kanji, Kamlesh Kanji, Dr Satish Kudchadkar and Parimelazhagan P J competed in a round-robin league team format, followed by finals and third-place play-off.
The league featured eight teams “ Atomic Blasters, Baddie Squad, Birdie Hunters, Darklords, Mischievous Mammoths, Ninja Smashers, Power Maulers and Royal Lions, with seven doubles matches in each tie, played in relay format.
“Matches were exciting and engaging, all of us were looking forward to squaring off on the courts once again after missing out on the action for many months,” stated Bibhash Chatterjee, the founder of Enthu Cutlets group. "The entire organising committee worked very hard to make it a seamless and fun tournament. And it can be seen in the smiles of the participants" added Bibhash, a national medallist in the men’s 50+ category.
The finals were graced by Sumeet Soni, CEO “ Parama Heartbeat Sports Private Ltd and Official Distributor of Adidas Badminton, Rajesh Kolwalkar, Director SAI Traders, Lydia Barreto, India international junior player and Goa Brand ambassador for Adidas Badminton and Sandeep Heble, Secretary, Goa Badminton Association, among others.
Winning squad: Kamlesh Kanji (captain), Nitin Akhade, Shailesh Dias, Pravin Upadhyay, T. Srinivas, Bhavin Parekh, Prasad Raj Vaidya, Ashok Kumar B, Sashi Kumar Ayer, Savio Lamb and Geetha; Runners-up squad: Parimelazhagan P J (captain), Sanjay Kumar, Benny k Maliyekkal, Rubesh Krishnan, Velayutham A, Pravin Sane, Stanley Fernandes, Gopal Kukalekar, Ravi Srivastava, Devidas Arcot, Sandeep Heble, Vinod Palyekar and S Banu.
