KUWAIT CITY, Sept 26: Some of the Kuwait expatriate community’s best players were seen in action this week when the Indian Badminton Association in Kuwait (IBAK) Masters Cup 2011 opened at the Saad Al Awzi School in Salwa, Friday. The event, which was preceded by an awards ceremony in which all the winners of various tournaments were honoured, was attended by the Indian Ambassador to Kuwait Satish Mehta who presented the prizes.

Before the start of the prize distribution ceremony, IBAK President Dr Manimara “Mani” Chozhan thanked the Indian Embassy and all those who had helped make the ventures of IBAK a success.
Chozhan also detailed the rapid rise of the organization which in a year and a half of its establishment has seen its membership rise to over 600.He also talked about the coming plans of IBAK as an Inter-School tournament, the first of its kind in the country, has been scheduled to start during the Eid Al Adha holidays in the first week of November.

Among IBAK’s plans is the “Coaching Module 2”, which has been scheduled to start in mid-October and will see the IBAK members being trained by a renowned coach from India who has helped produce some of the best players in the country.
Chozhan, while thanking the Indian Embassy for the tremendous support it is providing, also said that the Indian Ambassador – who used to be a sportsman himself – has requested that a tournament be organized for veteran badminton players in the over 50 years category. He also said that the ambassador also plays badminton and is possible that he may someday be seen in action at the same venue.

Ambassador Mehta then praised IBAK for the tremendous work it has been doing in providing the community with an opportunity to indulge in one of their favorite sports. He also assured the organizers of his continued support.
Chozhan also acknowledged the participation of Filipino Badminton Association in Ahmadi (FBAA) which is being represented by its President Ronald Margate accompanied by some of the top players of the organization.
During the awards ceremony, the following – besides all those who were winners of various games at a social event arranged by IBAK during the summer – were honoured:

Summer Smash
Blue Tier
Champions – Faheem/Noor
Runners-up – Pushkaraj/Srikumar
Red Tier
Champions – Shyam/Prasad
Runners-up – Unnikhrishan/Ashlin
Green/Yellow Tier
Champions – Pramod/Shaina
Runners-up – Sai/Rani
One-Day Tournament
Red Tier
Champions – Tinu/Samuel Johnson
Runners-up – Balgopal /Prasad
Blue Tier
Champions – Sunil/Saju
Runners-up – Faheem/ Rebin
Green Tier
Champions – Ashir/Faiz
Runners-up – Neha Sharath/Relin Mathew
Open Tournament
Blue Tier
Champions – Mathews J/Jabbar F
Runners-up – Suresh R/Faheem C
Red Tier
Champions – Anil L/Yash L
Runners-up – Shyam and Vijay
Green Tier
Champions – Rohith/Vineeth
Runners-up – Sri Sree/Rahul
Yellow Tier
Champions – Rani A /Shaina Ajay
Runners-up – Saikrishnan/Sayooj

Going back to the tournament proper, Masters Cup 2011 is seeing the participation of some top players from various countries – Philippines, Pakistan, Indonesia and Russia to name a few.
Friday’s action in the Advanced Level Pool A saw Roman and Maxim top the class with an unbeaten run when they first thumped Gedi and Agus 21-17, 21-19 and then brushed aside Anto and Karjan 21-11, 21-14. The winners were a class act and did not allow their opponents to settle down, especially in the second match although they did not have things totally their own way in the first game.
Faheem and Bader also had things their way when they overwhelmed Anto and Karjan 21-12, 21-10. Things could not have been easier as they practically ran over their opponents.

Mathew and Pushkar edged Joenel and Sherwin 21-11, 12-21, 21-16 but not before they were taken to three games and the game was much closer than the score indicates because after winning the first set easily Mathew and Pushkar thought they would have a similar time in the second but Joenel and Sherwin took the second set to level the match and push it into a third deciding set. Mathew and Pushkar, however, showed how things should be done by taking the third set and with it the match.
Gedi and Agus were made to sweat before they could outlast two of FBAA’s premium players Sherwin and Joenel 21-19, 19-21, 23-21. This was a match which could have gone either way with none of the pairs willing to admit they were second best before Gedi and Agus finally prevailed in the extended third set.
Indonesian pride Anto and Karjan bounced back after their easy defeat in their first match to stop Mathew and Pushkar 23-21, 21-16 but the game was very close, especially the first set.

Initial Standings
Rank Professional GP W L Pts
Level Pool A
1 Roman & Maxim 2 2 0 6
2 Faheem & Bader 1 1 0 3
3 Gedi & Agus 2 1 1 2
4 Mathew & Pushkar 2 1 1 2
5 Anto & Karjan 3 1 2 3
6 Joenel & Sherwin 2 0 2 2

In Professional Level Pool B, Jabbar and Noor are currently in the driver’s seat with an undefeated record in two matches, both in easy two sets, as they first overwhelmed Chandra and Manu 21-17, 21-16 and then overpowered Jimmy and Shyam 21-14, 21-18.
The winners were really at their best in both the matches and are expected to be standing on the winners rostrum when the tournament ends.
Samson and Febbin also found the going to their liking when they hammered Jimmy and Shyam 21-8, 21-6 in their first match but had to press on the accelerator in the last two sets of their second game to edge Suresh and MMC 14-21, 21-17, 21-17 because their opponents simply refused to give up and fought right until the end.
Suresh and MMC fought back in their second game after their close defeat in the first game to tame Chandra and Manu 21-14, 21-18. They again showed that they were really good when they crushed Jimmy and Shyam 21-10, 21-12 in their third match to collect seven points from three matches.
The winners are awarded three points if they win the game in two sets and the losers get nothing but if the match is stretched to three sets, the winners get two points and the losers one.

Initial Standings
Rank Professional GP W L Pts
Level Pool B
1 Jabbar & Noor 2 2 0 6
2 Samson & Febbin 2 2 0 5
3 Suresh & Mmc 3 2 1 7
4 Sunil & Vivek 0 0 0 0
5 Chandra & Manu 2 0 2 0
6 Jimmy & Shyam 3 0 3 0

In Advanced Level Pool A, Philippine and FBAA’s pride Philip and Joshua led the class with an unbeaten run as they wasted no time to beat Tom and Vijay 21-13, 21-16 before they tamed Jojo and Anish in back to back sets 21-16, 21-16. It was nice to see the winners combine well on the courts to outplay their rivals.
Jojo and Anish bounced back from their defeat as they overcame Faiz and Baburaj 21-19, 21-11 after a tough first set. They showed a lot of power in the second set to crush their rivals.
Meanwhile, Tom and Dr Vijay also went home with a victory under their belts when they fought for every point to outlast Sanal and Rajshekar in an extended 3-set play 21-14, 19-21, 22-20.

Initial Standings
Rank Professional GP W L Pts
Level Pool A
1 Philip & Joshua 2 2 0 6
2 Jojo & Anish 2 1 1 3
3 Tom & Dr. Vijay 2 1 1 2
4 Sanal & Rajshekhar 1 0 1 1
5 Faiz & Baburaj 1 0 1 0
Sreekar and Raja topped the class in Advance Pool B when they completed both matches in two sets when they first outclassed Sanu and Paul 21-8, 21-13 before thumping Allen and Edgar 21-13, 21-17.
Two other brilliant members of FBAA – Allen and Edgar – thrashed Jibesh and M. Sami 21-5, 21-5 and then beat Srijith and Jyotish 21-13, 21-18.
Srijith and Jyotish did not go home empty handed when they edged Sanu and Paul 13-21, 21-5, 21-9.

Initial Standings
Rank Professional GP W L Pts
Level Pool B
1 Sreekar & Raja 2 2 0 6
2 Sreejith & Jothish 2 2 0 5
3 Allen & Edgar 3 2 1 6
4 Jibesh & M.Sami 1 0 1 0
5 Sanu & Paul 2 0 2 1
Ronnie and Palani were really good in Advanced Pool C as they first outlasted Samuel and Bharani 17-21, 21-17, 21-8 and then overcame Arif and Joyal 21-13, 21-19.
Shyam and Tinu played only one game but they were in terrific form as they crushed Ansari and Abdul Lateef 21-5, 21-5.

Initial Standings
Rank Professional GP W L Pts
Level Pool C
1 Ronnie & Palani 2 2 0 5
2 Shyam & Tinu 1 1 0 3
3 Samuel & Bharani 1 0 1 1
4 Arif & Joyal 1 0 1 0
5 Ansari & A. Lateef 1 0 1 0

In Advanced Pool D, it was the turn of Pradeep and Madanmohan to show their class and they did so in style when they brushed aside Balagopal and Sudhakar 21-18, 21-16. They then outclassed Mohammad and Sayyed 21-14, 21-17 and stopped for a little while to catch their breath before going back on the courts to outlast Venkatesh and Ranjith after simultaneous extensions in the last two sets saw them win 21-18, 21-23, 23-21.

Jyotish and Sunil were among those who had an easy day when they thumped Prasad and Giri 21-16, 21-11 with the second set seeing them totally after a first set which saw them run into some resistance.
Venkatesh and Ranjith bounced back after their very close defeat in their first match to edge Mohammad and Sayyed in a seesaw battle 21-19, 16-21, 21-11. Except for the last set, the other two sets produced a very close match.

Initial Standings
Rank Professional GP W L Pts
Level Pool D
1 Pradeep &
Madanmohan 3 3 0 8
2 Jyothish & Sunil 1 1 0 3
3 Venkatesh & Ranjith 2 1 1 3
4 Prasad & Giri 1 0 1 0
5 Balagopal & Sudhakar 1 0 1 0
6 Mohammad & Sayed 2 0 2 1

Ladies Event
The Ladies event saw the girl power of Shaina and Lekha win twice to lead the class as they first overwhelmed Sanse and Jell 21-12, 21-15 and then hammered Lyn and Giren 21-6, 21-10. They were the only pair which won both their matches.
In the other matches, Laila and Yamini edged Lyn and Giren 15-21, 21-16, 21-16, Shobha and Preetha brushed aside Rani and Shivani 21-13, 21-16 and the tandem of Sanse and Jell fought back after losing their first game to beat Laila and Yamini 21-6, 21-8.

Rank Ladies Event GP W L Pts
1 Shaina & Lekha 2 2 0 6
2 Shobha & Preetha 1 1 0 3
3 Sanse & Jell 2 1 1 3
4 Laila & Yamini 2 1 1 2
5 Rani & Shivani 1 0 1 0
6 Lyn & Giren 2 0 2 1
IBAK organizers would like to offer special thanks to Mahmoud Al Dashti Director of Special Activities Hawally and Saleh Al Saleem Dept Head of Physical Education.