Dubai: Hiran Rasi, Omar Sharif and Sandeep Panikar advanced to the next stages of the Copy Corner and Legends Foodstuff Badminton Cup being held at the Etisalat Academy.
There was action aplenty with nearly 500 players from across the country participating in the fourth edition of this annual competition organised by Etisalat Sports and Leisure Club in co-ordination with the Dubai Sports Council (DSC).
Rasi impressed with his court skills in the boy’s under-10 section as he got the better of TS Damodharan 22-20, 18-21, 21-14, while Sharif fought his way to a 22-24, 21-9, 21-15 win over Navin Bobby in the boy’s under-13 section.
The boy’s under-16 category too witnessed an engrossing encounter with Panikar overcoming a stiff challenge from Varun Sadhwani 21-15, 19-21 and 21-12.
Much of the praise was reserved for six-year-old Mohammad Zayan from Indian Sports Club, Khor Fakkan as he displayed excellent poise and skills despite going down to Swaran Krishna. The competition got under way from Thursday evening at the Etisalat Academy with a total of 465 entries in the 19 age categories participating. The final will be held on May 16.
Earlier, the annual tournament was opened at the hands of former India player Rupesh Kumar in the presence of Moutaz Billah Sharif from DSC.
