KUWAIT CITY, March 1: IBAK Stealth Fighters showed that they meant business by clinching the first Indian Association in Kuwait (IBAK) Rolling Trophy after a hard-fought battle against a very tough IBAK Power Rangers squad in the IBAK Open Tournament at the Saad Al Awzi School in Salwa, Friday.
The competition was very tough over the last few weeks with all the sides evenly matched and none of them willing to admit that they were second best resulting in very close matches, some of which went right down to the wire.
The tournament had been based on four categories with Blue being the highest class, followed by Red, Green and Yellow in the order of seniority based on the experience of the players and their playing ability.
All the classes saw the representation of the following 5 groups which took part in the tournament : IBAK-Smashers, IBAK-Transformers, IBAK-Power Rangers, IBAK-Net Raiders and IBAK-Stealth Fighters.
While the focus of the event was on the team event, the performance of the individual pairs was also given a lot of importance. The scores of these pairs in the various categories were tallied to arrive at the team positions.

The semi final stage of the tournament saw a lot of teams suffer a reversal of fortunes as they had put up an excellent show in the league phase only to go down when things mattered most in the knockout phase of the event.
IBAK Smashers who had finished on top during the elimination round did not find things to their liking in the semifinals where they finished third and with only two teams going on to the finals they were knocked out of the event.
On the other hand, Power Rangers found their form just at the right time to hammer Transformers and book their place for a shot at the crown and they were joined in the championship battle by Stealth Fighters who took Smashers to task to finish second.
While Stealth Fighters took the overall team title, the going was not easy as the teams in various categories put up a real fight, giving nothing away until the last moment.
For Smashers it was Jabbar and Anil K who led the attack while for Transformers Dr. MMC and Vivek who were the major force in the Blue category but these teams ran into very still opposition in the Red section.

For Power Rangers Tom and Ajay led the attack against Transformers Krishan and Giri in a see- saw battle before they could triumph 21-16,9-21,21-10 and this was followed by a straight sets victory by Power Rangers’ Amol and Bharani who stopped Transformers’ Oommen and Dinesh in their tracks. Smashers’ Sabir and Aravind showed a lot of class to emerge on top after a hard fought battle against Stealth Fighters’ Shyam and Sarosh 21-23,21-17, 21-15 but Stealth Fighters ‘ Manoj and Rasheed showed the stuff they are made of when they outclassed Smashers’ Manju and Sursh P in straight sets 21-7,21-11.
In the Green category, Transformers and Power Rangers did not even have to take to the courts earlier on after both of them were awarded walkovers but this was not the case for Stealth Fighters Ronnie and Ashruf who had a battle on their hands before they outclassed Smashers Mubin and Moolayil in straight sets 21-19,21-9 before being awarded a walkover against Faiz and Krishno.
There were exciting games also in the Yellow category where Power Rangers’ Sai and Danish were too good for their opponents as they hammered Transformers’ Rani and Nikil 21-11,21-17. It was not so easy in the other semifinals where Smashers’ Satish and Vineeth were involved in a very closely-fought battle against Stealth Fighters’ Johann and Neha and had to fight hard after losing the first set 11-21 before taking the next two 23-21,21,19 but not before they were made to fight for every point.
Position after semifinals
Team Points
IBAK Power Rangers 12
IBAK Stealth Fighters 11
IBAK Smashers 7
IBAK Transformers 6
In the finals, Stealth Fighters’ Mathew and Sibi led the charge when they took on Power Rangers’ Chandra and Sabu J in the Blue category but the former had to beat a hasty retreat because Chandra and Sabu were just too good for them and refused to buckle under any pressure. Chandra and Sabu took the game to their opponents to win the match in two easy straight sets 21-14,21-15.
Stealth Fighters refused to be affected by this defeat and fought back in the Red category and their domination of this event was so complete that they having ripped apart the Power Rangers defenses, Manoj and Rasheed crushed Ajay and Tom in straight sets 21-9,21-16 before Shyam and Sarosh of Stealth Fighters showed that they meant business by overcoming Amol and Bharani in hard fought battle.
In the Green category, Power Rangers’ Santhosh and Noufal made a comeback after losing the first set to thrash Stealth Fighters’ Ronnie and Ashruf in the next two sets to take the match 11-21,21-16,21-11 but Stealth Fighters got the points when the pair of Salim K and Sree Sri were awarded a walkover against Power Rangers’ Writu and Pradeep K.
In the Yellow category, Stealth Fighters Johann and Neha drove the final nail in the Power Rangers coffin to make sure that the title would go to their squad. The first set was a very closely fought affair, which brought a lot of cheers from the entire IBAK crowd, but the second set was taken easily as Johann and Neha defeated Sai Krishnan and Danish 23-21,21-14. The losers must be given credit for putting up such a tough fight.
Final Position after the Finals
Team Points
IBAK Stealth Fighters 12
IBAK Power Rangers 6
While the points of the pairs were compiled to get the team standings, semifinals and finals were conducted to decide the winners of the Individual/Tier level.
Blue Tier
In the Blue Tier, Mathews and Sibi put up a fight in the first set of the first semifinal but Jabbar F and Anil K showed that they mean business in the second set as they took the game 21-17,21-10.
In the second semifinal, Dr. MMC and Vivek also found the going easy against Chandra and Sabu, although they lost the second set, to easily win 21-10,17-21,21-13.
The final was a treat to watch with both the pairs giving nothing away as they fought hard for the crown. Jabbar and Anil K were all raw power but their physical strength was more than matched by the experience and craft of Dr. MMC and Vivek.
Jabbar and Anil K put in an excellent performance in the first set as they took the game to their opponents to win 21-14 and it looked like they would would run away with the match in only two sets and with it the title but their opponents had different ideas.
Dr. MMC and Vivek fought back in the second set and took their opponents by surprise with a power-packed display to win 21-16 and level the match, pushing it into a deciding third set.
With the crowd sensing a very exciting battle on the cards in the last set, both the pairs found a lot of supporters as they fought for every point and were involved in long rallies. Dr. MMC and Vivek took an early lead but it did not last long as Jabbar and Anil K refused to buckle under the pressure and were soon on equal terms. Dr. MMC and Vivek put in an extra effort and changed their game plan which took their opponents by surprise. Before Jabbar and Anil K could even figure out what had hit them, Dr. MMC and Vivek had stolen the show as they cruised to the title.
Team Standing Blue
Results Pts Pts Pts
Semis
Jabbar F and Anil K Won 21 21
Mathews and Sibi Lost 17 10
Chandra and Sabu J Lost 10 21 13
MMC and Vivek H Won 21 17 21
Final
Jabbar F and Anil K Lost 21 16 17
MMC and Vivek H Won 14 21 21
Red Tier
The Red Tier semifinals saw some easy sailing for both the finalists. Biju and Dr. Palani were awarded a walkover against Amol and Bharani while Sabir and Aravind brushed aside Oommen and Dinesh in straight sets 21-12,21-9 with such an ease that it looked like they would be the favorites in the title fight.
In the final, Sabir and Aravind carried the momentum of their semifinal match to easily take the first set from Biju and Dr. Palani and it looked like it was only amatter of time before they would be wearing the crown but their opponents were not willing to surrender so easily.
Biju and Dr Palani were a totally different pair after losing the first set as they took Sabir and Aravind to task in the next two sets to win the match 15-21,21-17,21-16.
Team Standing Red
Results Pts Pts Pts
Semis
Biju and Palani Walkover 21 21
Amol and Bharani Absent 0 0
Sabir and Aravind Won 21 21
Oommen and Dinesh Lost 12 9
Final
Biju and Palani Won 15 21 21
Sabir and Aravind Lost 21 17 16
Green Tier
In the Green Tier semifinals, Santhosh and Noufal were hardly tested when they took on Mubin and Moolayil and won the match in straight sets 21-10,21-11 with such ease that everyone realized that they could not be stopped for they were a packet of power and wits, a combination which is not easy to beat.
In the other semifinal Ronnie and Ashruf did not have things entirely to their liking as they were made to sweat for every point before they could beat Samuel and Baburaj 21-14,19-21,21-16. Ronnie and Ashruf seemed to have let their guard down after easily taking the first set and their opponents made them pay with an excellent display to win the second set and push the game into a third set.But Ronnie and Ashruf put in an excellent display once again to clinch the game.
In the finals Santosh and Noufal put in a repeat performance of their semifinal game to brush aside Ronnie and Ashruf in straight sets 21-13,21-15.It seemed that the losers were tired after their tough semifinal match and were not able to put up much resistance against Santosh and Noufal who were in a class by them selves.
Team Standing Green
Results Pts Pts Pts
Semis
Santhosh and Noufal Won 21 21
Mubin and Moolayil Lost 10 11
Samuel and Baburaj Lost 14 21 16
Ronnie and Ashraf Won 21 19 21
Final
Santhosh and Noufal Won 21 21
Ronnie and Ashraf Lost 13 15
Yellow Tier
In the Yellow Tier semifinals Rani and Nikhil overcame Johan and Neha in straight sets 21-16,22-20 but they had a fight on their hands as they were stretched to the limit in the second set before they could earn a place in the final.
The other semifinal was also a very close affair with the brave pair of Sai and Danish put up a fight against Satish and Vineeth, who fought back after losing the first set to take the match and secure a finals berth.
The first set involved a seesaw battle which saw long rallies, placing and over the net drop shots with Sai and Danish managing to show their class for a 21-18 victory.
They continued to fight in the rest of the game but their opponents changed their strategy to counter all the attacks. Satish and Vineeth fought hard to take the second set 21-19 before putting in a power-packed performance in the last set to win it by a similar score.
The finals was a different sort of affair as there was no indication of the things to come after the first set.
Rani and Nikil surprised Satish & Vinith early on and easily won the first set 21-10 with so much ease that it seemed that it would only be a matter of time before they would be wearing the crown.
Satish and Vineeth, however, had different ideas as they did not want to give in after coming so close to the title.The results was that they put in such a performance that Rani and Nakhil were left stunned as Satish and Vineeth fought back, leaving their opponents standing in their wake as they took the next two sets 21-13,21-14 and with it the crown..
Results of the Individual/Tier level Semi & Finals:
Team Standing Yellow
Results Pts Pts Pts
Semis
Satish and Vineeth Won 18 21 21
Saikrishnan & Danish Lost 21 19 19
Rani and Nikhil Won 21 22
Johann and Neha Lost 16 20
Final
Satish and Vineeth Won 10 21 21
Rani and Nikhil Lost 21 13 14