Francis, Ganesh lift veterans doubles title

Muscat: The fancied team of PT Francis and Ganesh S claimed the veterans doubles title at the annual badminton tournament organised by the Indian Social Club Oman and sponsored by Pitstop Automotive Services. In the final, Francis and Ganesh held their nerves against some spirited play by the duo of Manoj Varghese and Jinesh Kumar. They fought neck-and-neck in the first game befoe Francis and Ganesh scraped through narrowly. They got their act together and kept their opponents at bay to win in the title in straight games 22-21, 21-15. The father and son team of Haridas and Himesh claimed the family doubles title by defeating another father-son pair of Mathew and Jeswin in three exciting games 15-5, 17-19, 15-12. Himesh Haridas and Kshama put in good understanding and teamwork to capture the mixed doubles title. In the final, Himesh and Kshama outlasted the duo of Manoj Varghese and Mayaja Harish 21-10, 21-15. The team of Athira Venugopal and Minu Saji captured the women’s doubles crown after defeating the duo of Tejali Parsekar and Pooja Umesh in the final. Athira and Minu staved off a brilliant challenge in the second game before prevailing with scores of 21-14, 22-21.