Indore, January 18: Petroleum Sports Promotion Board Academy (PSPBA) defeated West Bengal 3-1 in the final of the 85th UTT Sub-Junior and Cadet National Table Tennis Championships to hoist the winner’s trophy at the Abhay Prashal Indoor Stadium today.
The result may have gone the way of the top seed, but it did not reflect the gusty performance of the second seed, making it a worthy final in a long time.
After Rupam Sardar’s meek surrender to Sarthak Arya, Soham Mukerjee resisted well to stretch the left-handed Sahil, causing some harrowing moments. As a result, Sahil faltered for the first time, and Soham emerged victorious to restore parity.
Ronald Sarkar paired up with Sahil, and the two posed several questions to the West Bengal pair in the doubles rubber. In the end, Rupam and Soham could not match the guile of their opponents and wilted 2-3, providing PSPBA with a distinct 2-1 advantage. Sahil made up for his second singles loss and defeated Rupam 3-2 after the Bengal player led twice.
Sarthak and Arya are two good finds for the PSPBA. They have delivered in the championships every time they entered the arena, and it was no different in the semifinals this morning. Sarthak found it hard against left-handed Teshub Dinesh in the first game of the opening rubber. After squandering three game points, the PSPBA paddler won 16-14. After that, he never looked back, swiftly finishing the next two games to put his side ahead.
Straightaway, left-handed Sahil went into the attack, and it paid him and his side off with a 2-0 lead against Atharva Nawarange. However, the Karnataka player made most of his opponent’s unforced errors in the third game to pull one back. Beyond that, he could not do much as Sahil wrapped the rubber for a solid lead.
In the doubles, the left-right combination of PSPBA proved a better matchup than the Karnataka pair, also a similar combination. The Karnataka duo had an edge in the first game, but Sarthak and Sahil quickly nullified it and won 12-10. The two coordinated well, and Karnataka did not have an answer to it and ended their team’s campaign with the bronze medal.
But West Bengal’s overall game plan, barring the first-game hiccups, worked so well that they could beat Odisha 3-0 in the second semifinal. Of course, Soham faced some trouble initially with Odisha’s top player, Jigyansu Sahoo. But the Bengal paddler quelled the challenge to win 3-2. For Rupam, it was a cakewalk against Anupam Anindya Das. Rupam disposed of Anupam soon to lead 2-0.
Rupam and Soham faced little resistance in the doubles rubber, as Jigyanshu and Anupam failed to raise their game’s level. After losing badly in the first game, they showed a semblance of a fight, but it came too late and too little.
Nevertheless, Odisha and its players can take pride in whatever they achieved, a bronze medal in the nationals after three failed attempts in their previous events. They were just a step away from the medal rounds, but it seemed far away. But this time, they could not be denied the medals.
The U-11, U-13 and U-15 Boys singles have entered the knockout stages, the finals of which will be played tomorrow along with the doubles events.
Results: U-15 Boys Team: Final: PSPB-A bt West Bengal 3-1 (Sarthak Arya bt Rupam Sardar 11-8, 11-9, 11-6, Sahil Rawat lost to Soham Mukherjee 10-12, 11-3, 8-11, 6-11, Ronald Sarkar/Sahil bt Rupam/Soham 5-11, 11-8, 13-11, 10-12, 11-7, Sahil bt Rupam 5-11, 13-11, 13-11, 7-11, 13-11).
Semi-finals: PSPBA bt Karnataka 3-1 (Sarthak bt Teshub Dinesh 16-14, 11-3, 11-6, Sahil bt Atharva Nawarange 11-5, 11-9, 5-11, 11-7, Sahil/Sarthak lost to Atharva/Teshub 10-12, 6-11, 6-11, Sahil bt Teshub 7-11, 11-6, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9); West Bengal bt Odisha 3-0 (Soham bt Jigyanshu Sahoo 9-11, 15-13, 7-11, 11-8, 15-13, Rupam bt Anupam Anindya Das 11-4, 11-4, 11-5, Rupam/Soham bt Jigyanshu/Anupam 11-3, 11-7, 11-9).
