KUWAIT CITY, Jan 2: Bader and Chandra continued from where they left off last week, displaying the same form that they had shown throughout the tournament, to take the Blue Tier title in Indian Badminton Association - Kuwait’s (IBAK) final event of 2010 at one of the school gyms in Sabah Al Salam area Friday.
This event has been made possible by the IBAK Organizing Committee who are committed to delivering quality matches for all the members and non-members.
Blue Tier, Red Tier Pool, Green Tier and Yellow Tier were the four categories among which all the players had been divided with the Blue Tier the senior-most section based on the top and most experienced players of IBAK and the Yellow Tier having the least experienced players, including the newcomers.
The matches of all the classes were fought for a running score of 21 points. In case of a tie there was a slide to 2 points to win the set or the match.

As in all the other tournaments they had organized throughout the year, IBAK finished 2010 on an excellent note as the event ran like a well-oiled machine without any hiccups but this is nothing new because over the last few months since this organization was set up this has become the trademark of IBAK. Every tournament has been meticulously planned to ensure its success and the organization’s membership has swelled to well over 500 in a very short span of time.
IBAK now intends to take a break for the month of January as they do their stock-taking and plan tournaments and other events for 2011 while regularizing their membership.
After seeing the success of 2010, there is no doubt that IBAK has a large number of tournaments as well as other events in store for its members in 2011.
While IBAK has so far been holding its tournaments at temporary venues, it hopes to take over its permanent playing arena sometime early this year. Unlike the other organizations which gather only once a week, IBAK has been holding practice sessions throughout the week at a different venue in Mishref while leaving Fridays only for the tournament.
The practice sessions at the Mishref venue are for the IBAK members only.
The organizers say that the practice sessions for IBAK members have been scattered throughout the week because with such a huge membership it is not possible to accommodate everyone on a single day.

Blue Tier
Coming back to the tournament proper, the Blue Tier finals saw Bader and Chandra bag the title when they overcame Jabbar and Faheem 21-14, 21-19 without having to face too much resistance.
Bader and Chandra showed that they meant business and were not in the mood to let their very tough opponents dictate terms when they took the first set with surprising ease while giving away only 14 points. The set had been expected to be much tougher for Jabber and Faheem are a very good combination as they had shown in all their earlier matches but this was certainly not their day as the pair across the court were much better in the championship game.
Realizing that one more set loss would give the title to their opponents, Jabbar and Fahim fought back hard in the second set so that they could level the match and force a deciding third set but this was not to be as Bader and Chandra were not in the mood to let them off the hook.
Bader and Chandra showing an amazing determination and tons of firepower as they resisted the comeback bid of their rivals. The result was a set to watch as there were long rallies which saw excellent smashes and cross-court drop shots as both the sides tried to take control of the game.
But in the end, the day and the crown belonged to Bader and Chandra because besides making fewer faults than their rivals, they picked up the vital points at the right moments, giving away a total of 19 points, to take the set and with it the crown.

Earlier in the semi finals, as Bader and Chandra watched from the sidelines — having already qualified for the championship finals the previous week, Jabbar and Faheem overwhelmed Pushkar and Mathew 21-15, 21-13 to earn a shot at the championship.
Jabbar and Faheem were so good that they did not allow their opponents to settle down and gave away only 15 points in the first set while they were more miserly in the second set as their rivals could take only 13 points off them. This was certainly an impressive display from Jabbar and Faheem.
Bader and Chandra had made their path to the championship finals the previous week after fighting for every point to edge Roman and Ravi in the semi finals 21-16, 21-23, 21-17.
In the other matches in the previous week, during the elimination round , Mathew and Pushkar had outlasted Dr. Mani and Noor in a seesaw battle 21-16, 15-21, 21-16, while Jabbar and Faheem had edged Bader and Chandra 21-19, 18-21, 21-19, Roman and Ravi had outlasted Dr. Mani and Noor 18-21, 21-19, 21-11 and Bader and Chandra had overcome Mathew and Pushkar 21-17, 23-21.

Red Tier
In Red Tier, Dhanya and Jijo showed that they were the best pair in this group when they stopped Sajith and Unnikrishnan 21-18, 11-21, 21-5 to take the championship title.
The victory was especially sweet for Dhanya and Jijo because they outplayed their tough opponents who were the defending champions.
The first set was evenly contested and could have gone either way but Dhanya and Jijo showed better determination and restricted their opponents to 18 points to go up 1-0 in the match.
The second set saw a complete turnaround as Sajith and Unnikrishnan came fighting back very strongly and showed why they had won the previous tournament. They had Dhanya and Jijo running all over the court as they gave away only 11points to take the set very easily and level the match, pushing it into a third deciding set.

Soon Sajith and Unnikrishnan were probably soon wishing that the third set had not taken place for Dhanya and Jijo took control of it with such a power display that it was over as soon as it started.
Dhanya and Jijo put in such a power-packed display that their opponents could only manage to take five points off them, turning it into a one-sided game .It was only a matter of minutes before Dhanya and Jijo walked away with the title.
With this victory, Dhanya and Jijo also had their revenge because they had been beaten over three sets by their opponents earlier in the league phase of the tournament. It also showed that the ultimate champions put aside that defeat and it did not affect their game plan for the championship finals.
Earlier in the semi finals Sajith and Unnikrishnan overcame Manoj and Krishnakumar 22-20, 21-19 while Dhanya and Jijo tamed Arun and Mohan 21-18, 22-20.
Both the semifinals were very closely-fought affairs and could have gone either way as both these games were a treat to watch. Both the matches went into tie breakers before they could be decided.

The Red Tier semifinal line up was earlier completed by the teams and the standings were as follows with the top four pairs qualifying for the last four round:
1. Sajith/Unnikrishnan — 18 points
2. Dhanya/Jijo - 18 points
3. Arun/Mohan - 18 points
4. Manoj/Krishnakumar - 16 points
5. Sanal/Binal - 16 points
6. Sunil/Jyotish - 14 points
7. Suresh/Biju - 12 points
8. Subramoniam/Sunil - 10 points
Four of the teams that played in the league were a no-show on the final day and hence their points haven’t been displayed.

Green Tier
In the Green Tier, Anand and Pazhani outlasted Salim and Nouf 18-21, 21-16, 21-13 to walk home with the crown.
Salim and Nouf had started the game on an excellent note by taking the first set in which they had to fight for every point as they took the game to their opponents. They gave away 18 points when they took the set and went up 1-0 in the match.
Anand and Pazhani showed that they were championship material and would not surrender so easily as they fought back strongly in the second set, putting their opponents on the back foot as they piled up point after point while restricting their opponents to 16 points to take the set and level the match 1-1.
With the game evenly poised and both the sides hunting for the crown, the third set was expected to be a really tough one but Anand and Pazhani had different ideas. They were not in the mood to let their opponents dictate terms and put pressure on them right from the start.

Salim and Nouf could not find any answer to this onslaught and were caught unawares as Anand and Pazhani hit excellent smashes and well-timed drop shots. Showing the determination and stamina worthy of champions, it was not long before Anand and Pazhani walked away with the set — after giving away only 13 points — and with it the match and the title.
Anand and Pazhani had paired together for the first time and this was the first time they have taken the championship trophy but from the form and combination they showed in this tournament they will certainly be a pair on which the other players need to keep an eye.
Earlier in the semi finals, Salim and Nouf thumped Nanda and Baburaj 21-18, 21-8 while Anand and Pazhani brushed aside Santosh and Ronnie 21-14, 21-18.
Both the semifinals seemed to be one-sided affairs although their opponents took 18 points off them in one set in both of the games.

Yellow Tier
In the Yellow Tier, Vineeth and Darwin overcame Neha and Satish 21-13, 22-20 to take the title.
Vineeth and Darwin started off the first set on a very strong note, giving away only 13 points as they took the game to their opponents and emerged 1-0 up from the set.
With such an easy first-set win, Vineeth and Darwin were expected to take the second set also very easily but that was not to be as Neha and Satish fought very hard, stretching their opponents to the limit, by pushing the game into a tie-breaker in an effort to force a deciding third set.
But Vineeth and Darwin were not in a mood to play a third set and aimed to finish the match as quickly as possible and this they did by showing a lot of determination and maintaining steady nerves to clinch the crown. Their opponents certainly deserve a lot of credit for pushing them right to the limit.
Earlier in the semi finals, Vineeth and Darwin hammered Ashwin and Sayooj 21-13, 21-14 while Neha and Satish were made to sweat for every point and edge Saj and Johan 25-24, 24-22.

Before the start of semifinals, the Yellow Tier preliminaries were completed and the standings were as follows:
1. Vineeth/Darwin - 12 points
2. Neha/Satish - 12 points
3. Saikumar/Johan - 08 points
4. Sayuj/Ashwin - 06 points
The next IBAK tournament, which has been scheduled to start on February 4, 2011, will be held on a team format. Entries/queries for the game can be sent to vodkajuice@rediffmail.com and the last date for receiving the entries is Jan 28, 2011 (midnight).