DAMMAM: Herri Setiawan of Bahrain Badminton Federation clinched the coveted title of the 14th Federation Cup Open Doubles Badminton Tournament when he rallied to beat Sagar Chopda of India 14-21, 21-18, 21-18 in a spectacular international super singles final at Najmah indoor courts here. The championship was conducted by Badminton Federation – Saudi Arabia (BFSA) in collaboration with ARAMCO Ras Tanura Badminton Club. Six Indian international players, including Rupesh Kumar, silver medalist at the recently concluded Commonwealth Games, and two Bahrain international players, participated in the super singles and super doubles events. In the super doubles, Rupesh Kumar, ranked 15 in world doubles, paired with Thomas Kurian and downed India's first seeded team of Akshay Dewalker and Arun Vishnu in another thrilling three-setter. Over 380 players in the Kingdom from Jeddah, Riyadh and Eastern Province, competed in this mega event in 9 levels. In the men's premier flight, Vinu Johney and Togi Mathew won the championship against Alex Tharakan and Sanal Paul in a closely-fought 3-set final. BFSA President George PuthenMadhom in his presidential address congratulated the winners and runners-up and thanked the sponsors for their steadfast support for making this tournament a big success. Sirujulla Khan, President of RTBG, and the NA Recreation Senior Supervisor Ray Dunne were instrumental in hosting this mega event in Najmah indoor courts and Radwa indoor courts in ARAMCO. The major sponsors of the tournament were DELMON, Y.B.A. Kanoo, Zahran Falcon Travels, Al-Suwaidi, AL-KA Group, SINMAR, Malabar Gold, Nasico, GLOBAL Energy Trading, Star of Kingdom, Al-Saddy Trading SS etc. Cash prize totaling $4000 were awarded to the overseas players in addition to all their expenses. The international players from India were Rupesh Kumar, Thomas Kurian, Akshay Dewalkar, Arun Vishnu, Sagar Chodpa and Adithya Prakash. The Bahrain Internationals were Herri Setiawan and Rashad Khan. The tournament committee included George PuthenMadhom, Hashim Haleem, Eapen Tharakan, Sajan Babu, Meros Mathew, A.V. Mathew, Sameer Baikadi, Shaikh Ashrafulla, Anil Thomas, Verghis Cherian, Sirajulla Khan, N. Lakshmaiah and Prashant Shirodkar. Results: Men's doubles: Flight 6C: Sulficker Shaji and Mansoor Vaisyar bt Michael Ryan and Dionsio Santos. Flight 6B: Xavier Jospeh and Aigel Xavier bt Joseph John and Sudheer Khan. Flight 6A: Michael Banawa and Crisfel Panaganuron bt Jay Galvez and Khalidemiljay Galvez. Flight 5B: jiby James and Ibrahimkutty S bt V. Unnikrishnan and Suresh Babu. Flight 5A: Prince Chiva and Jeremiah Pascua bt Junaid Shaikh and Maaz Shaikh. Flight 4: Eldhose Paul and Arun Koshy George bt Thajudeen Shah and O. R. V. Perera. Flight 3: Roji Joseph and Pradeep Menon bt Rajesh Varghese and Ashish Salguna. Flight 2: Hassan Mohammed and Ramesh Allapurath bt Yasir Arafat Javed and Chen Xifu. Flight 1: Sebastian Antony and Rajesh Nair bt Sugu Philip and Joy Dela Cruz De Lara. Championship B: Vargis Cherian and Ashraf Puthiyath bt Rafael Alexander and Abdul Raheem Kanichadi. Champioship A: Maqbool Manalodi and Hussain Jamal bt Koh Liang Pheng and Wahyudi Sap. Premier: Vinu Johnny and Togi Mathew bt Sanal Paul and Alex Eapen Tharakan. Women's doubles: Flight 6: Reeta Shaju and Sandra Sakaria bt Mini Kumary U.K. and Sethulakshmi.U.K. Flight 4 and 5: Ishita Lakhanpal and Cecil Lumague bt Jessy Ciril and Sajida Babu. Flight 2 and 3: Mariah Shaikh and Sameera Lacson bt Janet Cruz and Irene Panes. Flight 1: Susan Paul and Rukhsana Jabbar bt Assiya Massarat and Seher Massarat. Combo doubles: Flight 6 : Jay Galvez and Jean Marie Galvez bt Michael Banawa and Eliza Andoloy. Flight 5: Roji Joseph and Sethulakshmi.U.K bt Rodolfo Esguerra and Mary Ann Esguerra. Flight 4: Ediberto Canoza and Irene Panes bt Srawan Anil and Reeta Shaju. Flight 3: Yasir Arafat Javed and Janet Cruz bt Ujang Muhiuddin and Cecil Lumague. Flight 2: Wendell Chua and Ailene Lejano bt Wayhudi Saip and Josette Lavente. Flight 1: Koh Liang Pheng and Samia Arif bt Gerben Daria and Chong Whey Tin. Championship: Iyus Kandar and Josephine Dupet bt Togi Mathew and Jessy George. International super doubles: Rupesh Kumar and Thomas Kurian bt Akshay Dewalkar and Arun Vishnu. International super singles: Heri Setiawan bt Sagar Chopda.
