PSPB win mixed team championship

Petroleum Sports Promotional Board (PSPB) continued their dominant run, blanking Airport Authority of India (AAI) 3-0 to win the mixed team championship of the 71st Inter State Inter Zonal Badminton tournament here today.
B Sai Praneeth defeated Pratul Joshi 21-13 21-12 in a 34-minute men's singles match to give a 1-0 lead to PSPB, while Ruthvika Shivani G extended the lead to 2-0 after beating Rasika Raje 21-15 21-12 in a women's singles match that lasted a little over half an hour.
Men's doubles pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Tarun K then brushed aside Arjun M R and Chirag Shetty 21-17 21-10 in just 24 minutes to complete the drubbing.

Women's doubles pair of Aparna Balan and P C Thulasi and mixed doubles pair of Aparna Balan and Arun Vishnu didn't need to take the field.
PSPB had blanked Maharashtra and Haryana with a same scoreline of 3-0 in the earlier two rounds, while AAI had defeated Uttar Pradesh 3-1 and Telangana 3-2 respectively. Assam and Chandigarh are the other two teams which participated in the tournament.
It is for the first time that BAI has decided to host the team event in a mixed format like prestigious Sudirman Cup. Till last year, there used to be separate team championships for men and women on the lines of Thomas and Uber Cup.

The 80th Senior National Badminton Championships will begin tomorrow with top shutters Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth, P V Sindhu, H S Prannoy and Ajay Jayaram -- all missing in action as they participated in the Malaysia Super Series Premier in Shah Alam.
It will be a good opportunity for Sourabh Verma, Sameer Verma, B Sai Praneeth and RMV Gurusaidutt to make a mark in their absence in the men's singles.
In the women's singles, P C Thulasi, Tanvi Lad, Ruthvika Shivani G and Saili Rane will look to showcase their skills among others.