Dinesh off to winning start

Dinesh Kumar overcame Yashpal Dalal in what was the toughest match in the +35 singles category. Out of the three matches played in this age category, two were largely one-sided. So, on a cold and wet Friday, Dinesh not only had to overcome the weather conditions but also tame his opponent to surge ahead on the inaugural day of the Chandigarh State Veteran Badminton Championship being played at Indoor Badminton Hall in Sector 42. He won 21-13, 21-18.

Dinesh started off well and pocketed good points to set the momentum. Yashpal made few counterattacks but failed to get going and lost the first game 13-21. He came back strongly in the second game but lost the momentum in the dying moments of the match. Dinesh made full use of the opportunity and recorded a 21-18 victory to march ahead.

In the other two +35 singles matches, Paramjeet Singh outplayed RK Mehta 21-15, 21-7 while Amit Kumra bamboozled Harmeet Singh 21-13, 21-13.

In the +35 doubles match, Sanjay Dhingra paired with Gurpeet Singh and the duo got the better of Girish Verma and Montu 21-18, 21-18. Dhingra and Gurpeet showed great coordination and it was their camaraderie that led them to victory. Just when Verma and Montu threatened to overcome them, Dhingra and Gurpreet produced something special to ward them off and walked away with the first game 21-18. They reproduced the same magic in the second game to record a hard-fought 21-18 victory to saunter ahead.

Meanwhile, Pankaj staved off a brave challenge from Manchander before beating him 21-9, 21-19. The first game was a cakewalk for Pankaj as he won 21-9. However, Manchander bounced back strongly and surprised him in the second game. Both the players went neck-to-neck till the last points of the game. It was here that Pankaj kept his nerves and put his opponent under pressure to force him to commit errors. With the last few points coming his way, his victory was not in doubt as he entered the next round.

... contd.

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