Muscat: Much awaited Modern Exchange – ISC Oman Open Badminton Championship took off at the ISC multipurpose hall on 05th November. Hon Sports Secretary Saji Abraham opened the event in the presence of shuttle enthusiasts and other executive committee members. Event started with Men’s Singles and doubles categories. In Men’s Singles top seed Himesh Haridas beat Abdul Salam in the semifinals and moved to the finals. In the members group of ISC, Rajesh had a comfortable victory over Abin and moved to the finals. In the same category, Gururaj B moved to finals beating Dr Abhilash Vijayan who came from Sur.
In the Women’s singles, Bharathi Ramachandran retained her title after beating Nayan Anil in a tough battle. Bharti took her first set without much effort but Nayan came back in the second set using her wrist power but Bharati played a brilliant game in the third set to concede the match in her favor.
In Men’s doubles open category, Nowfal & Shanith will face the favorites Himesh Haridas and Vaisakh Nair in the semis and the in the same category, Renjith & Anwar will play against Mohd Haroos and Rahul Hari. In Men’s doubles category, Abin & Rajesh will face Riyas and Sakkariya in the semis and in the same event Mony & Nadeem will face Shabeer & Shine in the semis.
In Veterans open event Gireesh Pillai & Francis PT used their brilliant form to claim victory over seeded no. 3 Albert & Geemon. Gireesh & Francis enjoyed court superiority and played with their usual cool form to wrap the 1st game. The second game was no different with both teams exhibiting delightful drops and aggression. Gireesh & Francis started off well but Albert & Geemon managed to keep at level taking 2nd game in their favor. On resumption, Gireesh & Francis stepped up on his smashes but Albert & Geemon managed to put these back and win some crucial points to keep their nose in front. Closer to the end, Gireesh & Francis held their nerve to fashion to win the match at 21-16, 16-21 and 21-18. In the similar category Nadeem & Jinesh won against injured Mathew Thomas & Simon Joseph after a brilliant resistance from the team.
