The Shuttle Time Dubai Schools Championships provided plenty of thrilling encounters as more than 250 young shuttlers showcased their potential on court.
The Indian High School (IHS) dominated both the boys and girls’ groups and will vie for glory in the U-13, U-15 and U-17 categories in tomorrow’s finals.
The team was one of more than 20 schools at Salahuddin Sports Hall in Al Mamzar, as players put on some impressive displays in the group and knock-out stages.
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In the boys’ section, IHS dominated proceedings. Their U-13 outfit defeated The Millennium School in the last-four after Ravi Sajayan and Dev Vishni won the deciding doubles to give them a 2-1 triumph.
Awaiting them in the final are Our Own High School Al Warqa. They came from behind to beat GEMS Modern Academy outfit thanks to wins from Shourya Mukund before teaming up with Nabhan Abdul Najeeb in the doubles to win 2-1.
It will be the same finalists in the U-15 category. Mohamed Fadhil and Clement Sebastian sealing a 2-0 win for OOOHS Al Warqa over Dubai National School Al Barsha.
Kevin Suares inspired IHS to a 3-0 win over Jumeirah College by giving them the perfect start before Rishal Ramesh doubled his team’s tally. Suares and Aren Fernandes completed the clean sweep.
Suares was back on the court again, stepping up to the U-17s to seal his side a berth in the final.
He gave his team the advantage, winning his singles encounter in the semi-final against The Millennium School. However, they levelled the tie through Varun Sadhvani before Rolvin Fernandes and Vaisakh Vineethan won the doubles.
Standing in the IHS’s way in the U-17 final are GEMS Our Own Indian School. They came out on top against GEMS Modern Academy 2-1, led by Abdullah Shaheer.
The Indian High School’s dominance continued as the girls side followed suit. Tanisha Crasto and Reem Siraj gave them a 2-1 win over GEMS Private School to reach the U-13 final, where they meet The Millennium School, 3-0 winners over GEMS Modern Academy.
Sara Siraj and Sonali Rathore booked IHS a place in the U-15 final. The pair won both their encounters for a 2-0 win and will next face DPS Dubai. Inspired by Bharathy Latheesh and Preeti Sebastian, they overcame GEMS Our Own English High School to clinch the game 2-1.
It was no surprise to see the school reach the U-17 final after defeating The Millennium School 2-1. Hoping to cause an upset there will be GEMS Our Own English High School, who GEMS Modern Academy by the same scoreline.
Tomorrow’s final will be attended by India’s world No5 Kidambi Srikanth. He will hand out the prizes and also advice to the youngsters.