Abu Dhabi: 39th ISC UAE APEX Open Badminton Tournament picked up steam and progressed well to reach the semi final & final stages in Girls, Boys, Ladies, Men, Masters and Senior categories.
In a very close encounter in U-18 Boys Singles Semi Finals, top seed Abdulla Shaheer (Sharjah) overcame the challenge from a much younger opponent Stefan Crasto (Dubai). He fought back one set down and in the decider trailing 14-19, he managed to rise to the occasion and pull of a stunning victory by scoring seven points in a row (16-21, 21-18, 21-19). Both the boys have won the heart of the public with their smooth movements in the court and true sportsman spirit.
In the finals Abdulla will meet Malaysian Joshua Yap who tamed Rohan Jothish (Sharjah) in straight sets (21-14, 21-11). In another stiff encounter in the mixed doubles, Indonesian Endi Madullah & Jeena Mathew upset the former champions Asep Adriyana and Vivian Silva (5-21, 21-19, 21-16) in three sets, which entertained the packed crowd late in the night.
Last year Men Doubles 1st Runner-up, Munais Mohammed this year partnering new comer Indonesian Imam Adi Kusuma showcased another upset of the evening by defeating tournament favourites Dea Kornelius and Kornelius Mujiono in a thrilling match in Men Doubles Quarter finals (13-21, 21-18, 21-19).
Meanwhile, veteran James Varghese, who is well-known in UAE for his passion for badminton and for his dedicated training, progressed to finals of Masters and Veteran Singles categories defeating Bobby Sebastian and Santhosh Kumar respectively. “I have been a regular participant in all the badminton tournaments conducted in GCC for almost 20 years and have won several times in men and master categories. This is the first time I am competing in a veteran category (above 45 years) and am very glad to reach the finals,” James Varghese said while responding to the media correspondent.
Results (12 Jan 2016):
Boys Singles Under 18
Semi Finals:
Abdulla Shaheer bt Stefan Crasto (16-21, 21-18, 21-19)
Joshua Yap bt Rohan Jothish (21-14, 21-11)
Men’s Doubles
Pre Quarter finals:
Avinash S. Kumar & Vinod Kumar bt Midhun Chithrasenan & Bobby Sebastian (21-12, 21-16)
Shibil C.P. & Rohit Haridas bt Deepu Venugopal & Junaid P. A. (21-18, 21-13)
Rakesh Ramakrishnan & Raghav Bhat bt Philp Daniel & Rahu Raghu (21-13, 21-14)
Endi Maduliah & Jaffer Ibrahim bt Sajayan & Sathyan (21-11, 21-11)
Quarter Finals:
Alfas Kalam & Waqas bt Shibil C.P. & Rohit Haridas (22-20, 21-17)
Munais Mohammed & Imam bt Dea Adi Ranga & Kornelius (13-21, 21-18, 21-19)
Men’s Singles
Quarter Finals:
Imam Adi Kusuma bt Rakesh Ramakrishnan (21-8, 21-7)
Dea Adi Rangga bt Joshua Yap (21-16, 21-14)
Mixed Doubles
Quarter Finals:
Kornelius Mujiono & Dhanya Boney bt Jay-Ar-Silvestre & Marge Hernadez (21-09, 21-05)
Semi Finals:
Kornelius Mujiono & Dhanya Boney bt Avinash S. Kumar & Amritha Kuttikrishnan (21-08, 21-15)
Endi Madullah & Jeena Mathew bt Asep Adriyana & Vivian Silva (05-21, 21-19, 21-16).
Masters Singles
Quarter Finals:
James Varghese bt C.R. Antony (21-16, 21-19)
Semi Finals:
James Varghese bt Bobby Sebastian (21-14, 21-12)
Veteran Singles
Semi Finals:
James Varghese bt Santhosh Kumar (21-17, 16-21, 21-17)
Veteran Doubles
Quarter Finals:
Santhosh Kumar & Dinesh Nair bt Riyas Azhar & Roby Varghese (21-14, 21-14)
Savio Thomas & Santhosh K. bt Sunil Ramanathan & Radhakrishnan R. (21-17, 21-6)
Semi Finals:
Santhosh Kumar & Dinesh Nair bt Savio Thomas & Santhosh K. (21-15, 21-17)
