Ankur wins back-to-back U-19 Boys title

Vadodara, November 23: The last time Preyesh Raj Suresh played Ankur Bhattacharjee in the Youth Boys Under-19 final in Thiruvananthapuram last month, the left-handed paddler from Tamil Nadu conceded the match in the fifth game in a bizarre way, prompted by his coach S. Raman.

The title-win win in October may not have satisfied Ankur as much as it did today. The West Bengal paddler taught a few lessons on the way to an emphatic 4-0 win over Preyesh, who was all at sea. A cursory look at the score would suggest how Ankur rendered him hors de combat in today’s final, though the former carried no injury or any such thing. However, the meek surrender must have damaged his confidence more than his reputation.

In the Girls’ final that went the distance, Syndrela Das of West Bengal had to take her game a notch better to outsmart local girl Oishiki Joardar. Syndrela won the title with a 4-2 verdict, but not before the Gujarat girl made her sweat for points.

At 2-2, it was anybody’s title. But Syndrela claimed all critical points when the last two games could have gone either way after deuce. What separated the two in the final was Syndrela’s forbearance, as Oishiki faltered on a few occasions. However, she was on song when she toppled top-seeded Suhana Saini of Haryana 3-1 to enter the final. In the second semifinal, Syndrela beat Prithoki Chakraborty from Haryana in straight games.

Given the reputation of Suhana, it looked like a one-sided semifinal even before Oishiki reached the table. And, as expected, Suhana was on a roll, winning the first game with utmost ease. But the Gujarat paddler levelled the score in a tough battle and gained the confidence to go 2-1 up after an error-prone Suhana struggled for rhythm. Cashing in on the situation, Oishiki played a tight game and won with minimal points for a showdown against Syndrela.

The Bengal girl was in a commanding position against another Haryana paddler, Prithoki, who hardly did anything to counter her opponent. Syndrela used the table well to fox her Haryana opponent, who seemed to have thrown in the towel early.

In the Boys’ semifinals, Ankur had the measure of K.J. Akash of Karnataka and led 2-0. However, he dropped the next game before going all out in the fourth game and entered the final. He will run into Preyesh Raj Suresh from Tamil Nadu. The latter won a tricky match against state-mate P.B. Abhinand, who led 2-0.

If Ankur played a flawless match, left-handed Preyesh made several unforced errors, especially in the first two games. He made amends soon enough to catch up with his counterpart and level the score. The heavy loss in the fourth game must have upset Abhinand so much that he never recovered from the shock.

In the mixed doubles final, the Railway’s pair of Akash Pal and Poymantee Baisya not only neutralised the 2-1 lead by their opponents Payas Jain and Yashaswini Ghorpade of Delhi and Karnataka but went on to notch up a 3-2 title-triumph.

The Payas-Yashsini combined well initially and led 2-1, but the Railways duo wore them out in the extended fourth game before wrapping it up in the fifth.

Results:

Youth Boys Singles U-19: Final: Ankur Bhattacharjee (WB) bt Preyesh Raj (TN) 11-3, 11-4, 11-2, 11-7.

Semifinals: Ankur Bhattacharjee bt KJ Akash (Kar) 11-6, 11-5, 8-11, 11-8; Preyesh Raj bt P.B. Abhinand (TN) 8-11, 6-11, 11-4, 11-3, 11-7.

Youth Girls Singles U-19: Final: Syndrela Das (WB) bt Oishiki Joardar (Guj) 11-7, 7-11, 11-5, 9-11, 12-10, 13-11.

Semifinals: Oishiki Joardar bt Suhana Saini (Har) 5-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-9; Syndrela Das bt Prithoki Chakraborty (Har) 11-7, 11-5, 11-7.

Mixed Doubles: Final: Akash Pal/Poymantee Baisya (RSPB) bt Payas Jain/Yashaswini Ghorpade (Del/Kar) 13-15, 11-4, 6-11, 14-12, 11-9.

Semifinals: Akash Pal/Poymantee Baisya by Ravindra Kotiyan/Prapti Sen (RSPB/WB) 11-7, 11-9, 11-8; Payas Jain/Yashaswini Ghorpade bt Anirban Ghosh/Shruti Amrute (RSPB) 10-12, 11-5, 9-11, 12-10, 11-5.