PSPB lifts 75th Inter State-Inter Zonal badminton Championship title

Petroleum Sports Promotion Board overcame a 0-2 deficit to defeat Manipur 3-2 and lift the 75th Inter State-Inter Zonal team badminton Championship.

Manipur got off to a perfect start in the mixed doubles competition when Dingku Singh Konthoujam and Priya Devi Konjengbam stunned Manu Attri and Ashwini Ponnappa 20-22, 21-18, 21-15.

Then, Maisnam Meiraba put up a formidable performance to defeat national winner Sourabh Varma 26-24, 21-14, and give Manipur a 2-0 lead.

Ashmita Chaliha of Assam defeated Maheshwari Devi Kshetrimayum 21-10, 25-23 to cut the gap to 1-2, and Manu and Chirag Shetty helped PSPB get back in the game by defeating Manjit Singh Khwairakpam and Dingku Singh Konthoujam in the men's doubles match 21-16, 21-17.

N Sikki Reddy and Ashwini Ponnappa, who won bronze at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, defeated Priya Devi Konjengbam and Maheshwari Devi Kshetrimayum in the decisive match 21-19, 21-10 to end Manipur's hopes.

Manipur, who won bronze in the 2018 competition, put on a strong performance in the competition as they advanced to the championship game on Wednesday by defeating Haryana 3-2 and the Aviation Authority of India 3-1.

In contrast, the second-seeded PSPB shut out Uttarakhand 3-0 before defeating Karnataka 3-2 to advance to the championship game.

Karnataka had beaten Maharashtra 3-2 in the quarterfinals, and Airport Authority of India had a bye in the first round.

On Friday, the 84th Senior National Badminton Championships will get underway, pitting established players like HS Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth against the next generation's best players like Kiran George and Priyanshu Rajawat.