Aparna and Abhinn with their trophies. Picture by S.H. Patgiri

Guwahati, Feb. 4: Aparna Popat and Abhinn Shyam Gupta retained their national titles with aplomb, brilliantly subduing top seeds B.R. Meenakshi and Chetan Anand in the women’s and men’s singles finals of the Indian Oil senior national badminton championship at the Kanaklata indoor stadium here tonight.

Both finals progressed along similar lines with the holders winning the first game, losing the second and holding on to their nerves to take the decider. Popat inflicted an 11-3, 7-11, 13-10 defeat on Meenakshi for her sixth senior national trophy, while Gupta put it across Anand 15-13, 5-15, 15-13 for his second straight title.

Jaseel P. Ismail teamed up with veteran Manjusha Kanwar to claim the mixed doubles crown, savaging the Kerala pair of V. Diju and Fatima Nazneen 11-7, 11-0.

Marcose Bristow and Rupesh Kumar bagged the men’s doubles title with a 17-15, 15-3 victory over Jason Xavier and Jaseel P. Ismail.

The men’s final was a seesaw battle between class and determination. However, Gupta’s grit and gumption, displayed in plenty by the hardworking defending champion, paid off in the end.

Top-seeded Anand, who had beaten Gupta thrice this year, smashed brilliantly from the baseline and his placements were perfect, but he disappointed with a casual approach in crunch situations. Despite running away with a 5-0 lead in the decider, he lost the match, surprising everyone.

“I can’t believe I have won. It is simply wonderful beating a player of Anand’s ability,” Gupta, who had played brilliantly through the meet, said after the hour-long battle.

Meenakshi, who had three match points in the deciding game, took Popat to the wire, too. “Though it was a tight match, I was expecting a win,” she said.

Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi and sports minister Robin Bordoloi were among the dignitaries watching the finals of the Rs 4 lakh prize-money tournament.

Apart from the trophies, the men’s winner pocketed Rs 25,000, while the runners-up got Rs 12,500. The women’s winners bagged Rs 20,000 and the runners-up got Rs 9,500, while the men’s doubles winner pocketed Rs 20,500, the runners-up got Rs 11,500. The mixed doubles winners were given Rs 18,000 and the runners-up got Rs 12,000, while the women doubles winner bagged Rs 18,000 and the runners-up took Rs 12,000.