National Games round-up: M Tharun banks on smashes to lift men’s singles gold in badminton Gouse Shaikh, D Pooja clinch mixed doubles gold
Goa, October 24 th, 2023:
Telangana’s M Tharun overpowered the experienced Sourabh Varma with
his smashes in the men’s singles final while Andhra Pradesh’s D Pooja and Gouse Shaikh took home the mixed doubles gold medal in the morning session of the badminton competition in the ongoing 37th National Games on Tuesday.
Tharun, who had upset second seed and national champion M Mithun in the semi-final, got the better
of Varma 21-15, 16-21, 21-15 in an hour and 10 minutes to bag his first National Games gold at the
Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee stadium here.
The fourth seed adopted an aggressive approach from the opening game itself and went for his big
smashes. That game plan worked as he opened up a lead 12-8 lead. Varma did manage to close the
gap at 16-15, but Tharun bagged the next five points to close the game.
The experienced Varma then changed strategy and began engaging his opponent in flatter rallies. This
allowed him to take control of the proceedings and force a decider. However, Tharun was prepared
for this game plan in the final game and changed ends leading 11-5.
Knowing that his senior opponent was under pressure, Tharun stuck to his game plan and induced
errors from Varma to win the title.
“My plan was simply to play to my strength and keep pressure on Sourabh. I am happy that it worked
perfectly today,” said Tharun after the match.
Earlier, Pooja and Shaikh clinched Andhra Pradesh’s first gold medal of the Games with a convincing
21-8, 21-17 victory over top seeds Navaneeth Bokka and K Maneesha of Telangana.
So far, a total of six gold medals have been decided in Games, will Telangana, Karnataka, Assam, West
Bengal, Services and Andhra Pradesh sharing one yellow metal each.
Elsewhere in Navelim, Services Sports Control Board and Tamil Nadu sealed their spot in the men’s
basketball 5×5 semifinal from Pool B after winning both their matches. In the morning session,
Services defeated Rajasthan 81-60 while Tamil Nadu got the better of Kerala 82-46.
In the women’s section, Maharashtra kept their hopes of qualifying for the semifinals with a 77-48
victory over Delhi in Pool B. they had lost to Tamil Nadu in their opening match on Monday. In the
sessions other match, Karnataka defeated Tamil Nadu 69-51.
In the netball arena, Haryana men will take on Delhi while Jammu and Kashmir face Kerala in the
semifinals.
Important Results:
Badminton (Finals):
Men’s Singles: 4-M Tharun (Tel) bt Sourabh Varma (MP) 21-15, 16-21, 21-15
Mixed doubles: Gouse Shaikh/D Pooja (AP) bt 1-Navaneeth Bokka/K Maneesha (Tel) 21-8, 21-17.
Basketball
Men
Pool B: Tamil Nadu bt Kerala 82-46; Services bt Rajasthan 81-60
Women
Pool B: Maharashtra bt Delhi 77-48; Karnataka bt Tamil Nadu 69-51
Netball
Women:
Pool A: Himachal Pradesh bt Telangana 38-36
Pool B: Karnataka bt Uttar Pradesh 36-14
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