Manipur finish second in 75th Inter State Inter Zonal Badminton Championship
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, February 23 2023:
Manipur faltered at the last hurdle to finish runners-up in the 75th Inter State-Inter Zonal Badminton Championship which wrapped up on Thursday.
The state team went down fighting 2-3 to Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) in their summit clash at Pune, Maharashtra.
Dingku Singh Konthoujam and Priya Devi Konjengbam stunned Manu Attri and Ashwini Ponnappa 20-22, 21-18, 21-15 in the mixed doubles match to give Manipur a perfect start.
Maisnam Meiraba then dished out a gritty show to outwit national champion Sourabh Varma 26-24, 21-14 to put Manipur 2-0 ahead.
However, Assam's Ashmita Chaliha saw off Maheshwari Devi Kshetrimayum 21-10, 25 23 to reduce the deficit to 1-2, while Manu and Chirag Shetty combined to bring PSPB back in contention with a 21-16, 21-17 win over Manjit Singh Khwairakpam and Dingku Singh Konthoujam in men's doubles.
In the decider, 2018 Commonwealth Games bronze medallists N Sikki Reddy and Ashwini Ponnappa beat Priya Devi Konjengbam and Maheshwari Devi Kshetrimayum 21-19, 21-10 to crush Manipur's dream.
Manipur, who had claimed bronze in 2018 edition, had produced a spirited show in the tournament as they beat Haryana 3-2 on Wednesday and also prevailed 3 -1 over Airport Authority of India to make it to the final.
(With inputs from Agencies) .