Foremer Nepal No 1 Paneru, who had left Nepal some two-and-a-half years ago, had straight sets 21-17, 21-18 win over Tamang. [break]
Paneru had gone to America in search of a better living. Paneru bagged a purse of Rs 50,000 and Tamang received Rs 25,000.
In the competitive first set, Paneru widened the point margin after he was able to lead by five points during the mid stage after setting a pace from 3-3 draw to a lead of 11-6 and finally to a convincing first set win.
In another set, Paneru dominated the match from the beginning and was able collect 18 points while his young opponent had just five points. However, Tamang made a great effort for comeback and had strengthen his position when he took his scoring 18 against 20 but failed to steer the match on to the third set.
Paneru who succeeded to win the APF title for the record fourth time dedicated his win to Kailali, the place he hails from.
"The last time I had won title before leaving for America was during the fourth edition of APF badminton and today I was under pressure to retain it," Paneru, who did not train for a single day for the tournament, expressed his disappointment with the poor quality of current badminton. "The young players have not bettered their quality and playing skills. Their game is at the same level as it was a few years ago."
In women´s singles title clash between the host´s shuttlers, Puja Shrestha thrashed Nangsaladevi Tamang to bag her third major title of the domestic season. Shrestha eased past Tamang 21-7, 21-13.
Shrestha received a cash prize of Rs 40,000 and Tamang got 20,000.
Shrestha dominated the first set from the beginning and had a 3-1 lead. She was, then, able to take nine points lead with the score of 18-9 before wrapping up the set in her favor. In another set too, Shrestha continued her dominance on the court and was able to score 11 points when Tamang had scored just two points.
Shrestha said that the match was as easy as she had expected previously. "I have won almost all the previous matches and was confident I could beat her," Shrestha said.
Defending champion Saradevi, sister of Nangsaladevi, did not contest in the tournament owing to her injuries.
In men´s double, Shrestha brothers--Bikash and Bivek of Nepal Police Club won the title defeating APF pair Rajiv Dahal and Bishal Pradhan. Shrestha brothers had a comfortable 21-12, 21-16 win over their departmental rivals. Bikash, who crashed from the semifinal of men´s singles in the current edition is the winner of previous edition.
List of winners
Men´s Singles
Edition Winner Runner-up
1st (2060) Pashupati Paneru Pankaj Chand
2nd (2061) Pashupati Paneru Balaram Thapa
3rd (2063) Balaram Thapa Pashupati Paneru
4th (2064) Pashupati Paneru Balaram Thapa
5th (2065) Ram Singh Chaudhary Pankaj Chand
6th (2066) Bikash Shrestha Ram Singh Chaudhary
7th (2067) Pashupati Paneru Ratnajit Tamang
Women´s singles
Edition Winner Runner-up
1st (2060) Sumina Shrestha Puja Shrestha
2nd (2061) Puja Shrestha Sumina Shrestha
3rd (2063) Sumina Shrestha Saradevi Tamang
4th (2064) Sumina Shrestha Sujana Shrestha
5th (2065) Saradevi Tamang Puja Shrestha
6th (2066) Saradevi Tamang Puja Shrestha
7th (2067) Puja Shrestha Nangsaladevi Tamang
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