Neha Pandit, Gaurav Parmar triumph; RSB Mumbai win twin titles at All India Civil Services Badminton

Neha Pandit and Gaurav Parmar emerged women’s and men’s singles champions respectively in the All India Civil Services Badminton tournament in New Delhi on Thursday.

The week-long annual tournament was organized by the Directorate of Education (Sports) GNCTD and Deputy Director Sports Delhi Government at the Tyagraj Stadium.

Neha Pandit represented the Regional Sports Board (RSB) Mumbai. She thumped RSB Shillong’s Syeda Roseling Begum 21-12, 21-12 in the women’s singles final.

Pune-based Neha needed just 26 minutes to oust Syeda Roseling in a one-sided summit clash. Experienced campaigner Neha got off to a flying start and established an early lead. The former international shuttler Neha extended it to seal the fate of her rival.

Neha won both games with an identical score of 21-12 to stamp her authority in style.

The men’s singles crown was bagged by Gaurav Parmar. Third seed Gaurav Parmar of RSB Indore stunned top seed Shreyansh Jaiswal 21-18, 18-21, 21-15 in 52 minutes.

In an exciting final, Parmar surprised his fancied rival in three tough games.

Former ace Indian shuttler Shreyansh Jaiswal of RSB Chennai fought hard but could not stop an inspired Parmar.

The men’s doubles title was claimed by second seeds Tushar Sharma and Vinay Kumar Singh, who downed Gaurav Parmar and Pramesh Patidar 21-18, 21-16 in the final.

In the women’s doubles, fourth seeds Arathi Sara Sunil and Haritha MH stunned top seeds D Sudha Kalyani and Ningshi Block Hazarika 21-14, 23-21 in 38 minutes.

However, Sudha Kalyani emerged as champion in the mixed doubles. The pair of Vinay Kumar Singh and D Sudha Kalyani prevailed over Nitish Bora and Ningshi Block Hazarika 21-17, 21-15 in the final.

History of RSB

RSB is the Regional Sports Board and not the Related Societies Board.

The RSB Mumbai men's team won the title after 19 years. Nineteen years ago there were strong players like Vikrant Patwardhan and Rutupurna Kulkarni.

The tournament saw five awards won by RSB Mumbai.

Team championship awards by men's and women's teams and Fair Play awards by both teams for best behavior on and off the court.

Dr Nirmala Kotnis received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Govt of India Central Civil Services Cultural and Sports Board department of personnel and training.

The week-long tournament comprises state and all central departments of the government.

RSB Mumbai makes clean sweep in team championships

Third seed RSB Mumbai edged past the Central Secretariat 3-1 in a marathon men’s team championship final which lasted 2 hours and 25 minutes.

RSB Hyderabad clinched third position as last year’s runners-up beat RSB Kochi 3-2 in the play-offs.

Women's singles champion Neha Pandit (2nd from L) with other RSB Mumbai women's team members

Top seed and defending champion RSB Mumbai blanked the Central Secretariat 2-0 to retain the women's team championship title.

RSB Kochi defeated RSB Kanpur 2-0 to claim third spot in the women’s team championship.

RSB Mumbai shuttlers with their trophies and medals in New Delhi on Thursday

Results (All Finals)

Men’s singles

3-Gaurav Parmar bt 1-Shreyansh Jaiswal 21-18, 18-21, 21-15 (52 minutes)

Women’s singles

Neha Pandit bt Syeda Roselina Begum 21-12, 21-12 (26 minutes)

Men’s doubles

2-Tushar Sharma-Vinay Kumar Singh bt Gaurav Parmar-Pramesh Patidar 21-18, 21-16 (30 minutes)

Women’s doubles

4-Arathi Sara Sunil-Haritha MH bt 1-D Sudha Kalyani-Ningshi Block Hazarika 21-14, 23-21 (38 minutes)

Mixed doubles

Vinay Kumar Singh-D Sudha Kalyani bt Nitish Bora-Ningshi Block Hazarika 21-17, 21-15 (30 minutes)

Women’s singles 40 plus

2-Sunita bt Shalini Yadav 21-19, 21-17 (30 minutes)

Men's singles 45 plus

Budi Prakash Murty bt Dinesh Kumar 21-10, 21-7 (24 minutes)

Men’s doubles 45 plus

Lalit-Vivek Padam Singh bt Anand Dhar Diwan-Sudesh Tiwari 21-10, 21-15 (25 minutes).