Greater Noida (Uttar Pradesh) [India], January 26 (ANI): Second seeds Sindoor Mittal (Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating -DUPR Rating 3.432) and Simran Bangera (DUPR Rating 3.233) stunned top seeds Praachi Jain Chander (DUPR Rating 4.264) and Sakshi Aggarwal (DUPR Rating 3.858) to lift the 35-plus Women’s doubles title at the 4th Indian Pickleball Association (IPA) Pickleball Nationals in Greater Noida on Sunday.
The match between the top two seeds met its expectations with two states, Delhi and Maharashtra pitted against each other. Mittal and Bangera, who had come into the finals with a massive 15-2 win over Vandana Bhandari and Kirty Harit, faced Chander and Aggarwal, who beat third seeds P Wadhwa and Aditi Joshi 15-6 in the first semifinal.
While Mittal and Bangera looked very confident in the first game to win it 11-8, the Delhi girls came back stronger to take a 3-8 lead in the second game but the Mumbai ladies turned the tables and won the next eight points to win the game 11-8 and bag the title.
Bhandari and Harit then beat Joshi and Wadhwa 15-8 to win bronze.
Eighth seeds Kishan (DUPR Rating 3.888) and Krish Patel (DUPR Rating 4.178) stunned the second-seeded pair of Niraj Jain (DUPR Rating 4.278) and Sohel Makani (DUPR Rating 4.666) to win the 35+ men’s doubles title. Having won the first game 11-4, the men from Gujarat kept up their momentum and won the second 11-5, to cruise to the title.
Meanwhile, Gaurika Chopra and Manish Aggarwal stunned fourth seeds Nilesh Desai (DUPR Rating 4.153) and D Shwetal to win the 50+ mixed doubles title on Sunday. Having won the first game 11-3, Chopra and Aggarwal were challenged by Nilesh and Shwetal as the fourth seeds won the second game by 11-7.
The decider lived up to the hype but Chopra and Aggarwal won it 11-6 to win the title. Third seeds AB Menon and Jyoti K Kandhari beat KV Sudeep and Indira Mani 15-4 to finish third.
Earlier in the tournament, on Day 3, the Nationals witnessed thrilling finales across various categories, with top seeds Armaan Bhatia and Harsh Mehta capturing the men’s doubles title late on a chilly Saturday night.
Bhatia and Mehta, who have DUPR ratings of 6.364 and 6.632 in doubles, respectively, beat third seeds Divyanshu Kataria (4.924 DUPR) and Aditya Ruhela (5.138) in a hard-fought match that ended with a scoreline of 11-4, 7-11, 11-5. This victory rounded off a thrilling evening of competition that saw champions emerge across various categories.
In the 50-plus men’s doubles final, top seeds Dilesh Bhullar (4.387 DUPR rating) and Suryaveer Singh Bhullar (IPA President) overcame a loss in the first game to defeat fourth seeds Shalin Jain and Akhil Mathur 9-11, 11-7, 11-5. Among the veterans, in the 60-plus men’s single category, SB Sharma defeated Ashwini Wadhwa (3.933 DUPR).
In the women’s doubles, second seeds Naimi Mehta (4.464 DUPR Rating) and Mihika Yadav (4.420 DUPR Rating) secured a decisive victory over Asmi Sapra and Megha Kapoor. After losing the first game 2-11, they came back to win the next two 11-1 and 11-3 and bag the women’s doubles title.
Meanwhile, Shefali Arora (3.071 DUPR Rating) and Nitanya Malik (3.93 DUPR Rating) delivered an upset by defeating top seeds Amrita Mukherjee (5.1 DUPR Rating) and S Dipti to claim third place in the PRO Open women’s doubles. (ANI)
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