Dharamshala, November 18: The Sub-Junior boys of Tamil Nadu were the only top-seeded team that survived with sheer consistency to enter the final of the UTT 81st Cadet and Sub-Junior National Table Tennis Championships at the Indoor Stadium here today.

Tamil Nadu defeated Uttar Pradesh 3-1 and they will meet Maharashtra A in the final tomorrow. Maharashtra, from the bottom half of the draw, surprised second-seed West Bengal 3-1 in the second semi-final.

Similarly, top-seeds Karnataka in Sub-Junior Girls were blanked out by Haryana in the quarters, paving the way for the northern state to enter the final along with Tamil Nadu, who knocked out third-seed West Bengal, also with a 3-0 verdict.

In Cadet Girls and Boys, again the top-seeded West Bengal bowed out. Yesterday, the boys were sent packing by Maharashtra A while their girls went down in straight games to Tamil Nadu.

As a result, all the four Tamil Nadu teams have entered finals and are poised to benefit the maximum from these nationals. They have already ensured silver medal each for their teams and are just a step away from sweeping the gold medals.  

In Cadet Girls, Uttar Pradesh powered by Anika Gupta’s deciding rubber victory upset Maharashtra A 3-2 in a marathon that lasted almost one and a half hours.

In Sub-Junior Girls, as expected both Haryana and Tamil Nadu toyed with their opponents, Maharashtra A and West Bengal. Haryana won 3-1 while Tamil Nadu blanked out West Bengal 3-0.

In the Cadet Boys semi-finals, North Bengal had to really battle it out against a stubborn Haryana before entering the final, to be played tomorrow, with 3-2 win.

The mach went up to the last rubber in which Sangram Sarkar outplayed Krishiv Nayak of Haryana to clinch it in their favour. Earlier, Siddhant Kataria had given Haryana the much-needed win to level the score 2-2. In fact, he was the one who won both his singles to provide the opportunity which Krishiv could not cash in on.

In comparison, Tamil Nadu had an easy time against PSPBA despite the latter managing to take a rubber when Umesh Kumar of Tamil Nadu lost to Priyanuj Bhattacharyya.

Results:

Cadet Boys: Semi-finals: North Bengal bt Haryana 3-2 (Punit Biswas bt Krishiv Nayak 11-3, 11-6, 11-1, Sangram Sarkar lost to Siddhant Kataria 4-11, 10-12, 13-11, 8-11, Punit/Sangram bt Krishiv/Siddhant 7-11, 11-5, 12-10, 11-8, Punit Biswas lost to Siddhant Kataria 4-11, 11-5, 11-6, 5-11, 5-11, Sangram Sarkar bt Krishiv Nayak 12-10, 9-11, 11-9, 11-7); Tamil Nadu bt PSPBA 3-1 (Umesh Kumar lost to Priyanuj Bhattacharyya 7-11, 9-11, 11-6, 5-11, P.B. Abhinand bt Divya Rajkhowa 11-8, 11-7, 11-7, Umesh/Abhinand bt Sehgal Singh/Praiyanuj 11-9, 11-8, 13-11, P.B. Abhinand bt Priyanuj Bhattacharyya 3-11, 11-3, 11-6, 11-6).

Quarterfinals: North Bengal bt Maharashtra A 3-1, Haryana bt Karnataka 3-1, PSPBA bt Maharashtra B 3-1, Tamil Nadu bt Telangana 3-2.

Cadet Girls: Semi-finals: Tamil Nadu bt Telangana 3-0 (Sharvani Nagam bt Naorem Shriya 11-5, 11-5, 11-7, M. Hansini bt Paluru Jalani 11-2, 11-1, 11-2, Hansini/Sharvani bt Paluru/Pragyansha Patra 11-7, 11-5, 11-4); Uttar Pradesh bt Maharashtra A 3-2 (Anika Gupta lost to Jennifer Varghese 11-5, 5-11, 7-11, 7-11, Suhani Mahajan bt Devyani Kulkarni 11-5, 7-11, 11-5, 11-5, Anika/Suhani lost to Jennifer/Devyani 11-7, 10-12, 7-11, 7-11, Suhani Mahajan bt Jennifer Varghese 11-8, 5-11, 10-12, 11-4, 11-8, Anika Gupta bt Devyani Kulkarni 11-4, 13-11, 12-10).

Quarterfinals: Tamil Nadu bt West Bengal 3-0, Telangana bt Gujrat 3-1, Maharashtra A bt Delhi 3-2, Uttar Pradesh bt Punjab 3-0.

Sub-Junior Boys: Semi-finals: Tamil Nadu bt Uttar Pradesh 3-1 (Tharun Shanmugham bt Divyansh Srivastava 11-9, 11-5, 11-8, Preyesh Raj Suresh bt Sarth Mishra 11-7, 7-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-9, Tharun/Preyesh bt Divyansh/Sarth 11-6, 11-9, 7-11, 11-9, Preyesh Raj bt Divyansh Srivastava 5-11, 11-4, 11-5, 11-6); Maharashtra A bt West Bengal 3-1 (Havish Asrani bt Bodhisatwa Choudhury 11-8, 11-4, 6-11, 11-5, Jash Modi lost to Ankur Bhattacahrjee 7-11, 6-11, 6-11, Aadil/Havish bt Ankur/Rudhra N. Ghosh 11-8, 11-6, 11-4, Jash Modi bt Bodhisatwa Choudhury 8-11, 5-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-9).

Quarterfinals: Tamil Nadu bt Haryana 3-1, Uttar Pradesh bt Delhi 3-1, Maharashtra A bt Karnatka 3-2, West Bengal bt Gujarat 3-2.

Sub-Junior Girls: Semi-finals: Haryana bt Maharashtra A 3-1 (Suhana Saini bt Taneesha Kotecha 5-11, 11-4, 11-4, 12-10, Preksha Vohra lost to Pritha Vartikar 7-11, 5-11, 8-11, Suhana/Preksha bt Pritha/Sampada 11-9, 11-9, 11-9, Suhana Saini bt Pritha Vartikar 11-7, 11-7, 11-4); Tamil Nadu bt West Bengal 3-0 (Kavyashree Baskar bt Sneha Bhowmick 11-3, 9-11, 11-7, 8-11, 11-9, Nehal Venkatasamy bt Prithoki Chakraborti 11-8, 11-7, 11-5, Kavyashree/Nehal bt Oishiki Joardar 11-9, 11-8, 13-11).

Quarterfinals: Haryana bt Karnataka 3-0, Maharashtra A bt Maharashtra B 3-0, West Bengal bt Gujarat 3-1, Tamil Nadu bt Delhi 3-2.

New Delhi, November 18: Harmeet Desai defeated compatriot Anthony Amalraj in the final of the 2019 ITTF Challenge Indonesia Open at Batam to win his first open international men singles title.

The No.3 seeded Indian defeated No. 6 Amalraj 11-9, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9, 10-12, 11-8 to secure a major title in his career. The match almost went the full distance and both played a riveting final, especially Amalraj after being 1-3 down.

When it reached the fifth game, Harmeet played brilliantly but Amalraj matched it equally well to deuce. At 10-10, Harmeet had the advantage but he lost and Amalraj, seizing the opportunity, reduced the margin further.

But the Surat man’s excellent block and counters in the sixth helped him coast along. The match had fine long rallies and Harmeet’s percentage game at crucial junctures, particularly when Amaraj gave away some negatives, hastened the process in favour of Harmeet.

In the semi-finals, Harmeet defeated No. 5 seed from Lam Siu Hang from Hong Kong 11-5, 16-18, 4-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-8. Though Harmeet began well against the Hong Kong paddler he went down 1-2 soon before regrouping himself to not only catch up with his opponent and finally going through by winning the sixth game.

Amalraj, on the other hand, had it rather easy in his semi-final encounter against Senegal’s Ibrahima Diaw, who is seeded No. 7. The Indian won 11-4, 11-7, 11-8, 11-3.

Dharamshala, December 15: The UTT 81st Cadet and Sub-Junior National Table Tennis Championships which get underway at Indoor Stadium here tomorrow marks the beginning of the first of three Nationals in TTFI’s calendar of events.

They are not only considered a stepping stone for the aspiring paddlers, but also provide them with the opportunity to represent their states as the best among equals. But the greenhorn that has made it to the state squads will have to utilize the chance and convert it into medals, particularly the Cadet players, who are in their first year of a grand exposure.

And for the Sub-Juniors, it’s time to redeem and cement their place, having moved to the next level with some fine ground work in previous years. Their consistency at state level may have earned them a place in squads, but in the face of stiff competition from every participating state, only the best survive to reach the podium.

Of course, the Cadet events have been a tricky affair because there is always a struggle to cobble a team together. Hence, striking a balance is very important but no state can boast of such a luxury. West Bengal Cadet boys and girls, having claimed both titles in the last edition, have deservingly made it to the top of group A ,but they have a better girls’ squad than that of boys.

The group B topper, Tamil Nadu also face a similar problem with one strong player in P.B. Abhinand but it cannot be said of the rest of the team members. Also one cannot discount the chance of PSPB Academy players who have started making waves once again.

In other words, the scene is more or less the same in most of the group toppers without exception and that gives every ‘strong’ on paper the chance to win the title. In comparison, Tamil Nadu girls are better than the rest and they seem to have an edge over the others, thanks to Sharvani Nagam, who claimed the Central Zone title after being in three finals.

Similarly, the West Bengal team will rely on Diya Bramhachary, who with a few titles this season in her kitty, and support coming from Nandini Saha and Rupsa Ghoshal. But the surprise element has always been Maharashtra who created history a couple of seasons ago, winning three out of four titles.

However, the situation is tailor-made for Tamil Nadu as Preyesh Raj Suresh can carry their entire medal burden on his shoulders. The left-hander claimed three out of five singles titles in the just-concluded National Ranking championships. But it is foolhardy to bank on him alone and Tharun Shanmugam would be expected to pitch in. Yet, Maharashtra and Delhi can be the dark horses with strong performers in their line-ups to cause a stir or two.

But the best bet in Sub-Junior Girls is West Bengal, followed by Tamil Nadu and finally Delhi who have players of the calibre that can turn the tables on their rivals if things go according to plan. In the Sub-Junior category, the problem crops up in finding a winning doubles combination.  This neutralizes the effect of some good singles players who, with all their experience, have to bear the brunt.

As for entries, there are 32 squads each in Sub-Junior Boys and Girls while 31 in Cadet Boys and 30 in Cadet Girls. But apart from team superiority which will come to the fore in the first three days, the last four days of the nationals will witness paddlers vying with one another to win individual glory and prize money, nearly worth Rs. 3 lakh. Besides the rewards, it is worth 10 gold medals.

According to Competition Manager Ganeshan Neelakanta Iyer, 16 Stag Americas’ tables will be employed for the seven-day championships. However, both GKI (Cadets) and DHS (Sub-Junior) balls will be used for the competitions. Veteran A.S. Kler takes the referee’s chair with Mangesh Mopker and Atul Dubey as his deputies. They will have the services of more than 50 Blue Badge, international and national umpires. 

The championships, organized by the Himachal Pradesh Table Tennis Association, will be inaugurated by Anurag Thakur, HPTTA president and Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs, at 9 a.m. tomorrow.

Bhavnagar, November 14: Preyesh Raj Suresh does not need a second invitation as he seizes every opportunity that comes his way. And the Tamil Nadu boy, who won the season’s third Sub-Junior Boys title yesterday, also claimed his first Junior Boys crown when he beat Jeho Himnakulhpuingheta 4-3 in a thrilling final of the UTT National Ranking (Central Zone) Table Tennis Championships which concluded at the SAG Sports Complex here today.

Anusha Kutumbale from Madhya Pradesh, however, failed in her attempt to add her third Junior Girls title when she went down fighting to Poymantee Baisya of West Bengal 3-4. The West Bengal paddler ended the season with her first crown in the season.

Peyesh, unlike most others, took on his defensive opponent head on and without getting immersed into his rival’s game plan devised his own. The TN boy, too, kept returning whatever was sent at him and when he got the opportunity grabbed it with both hands with clean winners. Until Game 6, the pendulum kept swinging from one extreme to another, but Jeho was one game up at that stage. Yet, the Tamil Nadu boy played with purpose in the last two games to wrap up the win and the title.

Preyesh’s first winner’s trophy in the category came at the cost of state mate Vishwa Deenadayalan, touted as the favourite to win his fourth gold of the season. But he was certainly not in his elements and just one valiant attempt in the third game was not good enough. Preyesh, running an excellent form, finished the semi-final match without any more problems.

In the second semi-final, defensive Jeho Himnakulhpuingheta prevailed over the attacking Chinmaya Somaiya 4-2. After losing the two opening games, the Mizoram boy reassessed the situation and switched to a complete defensive mode, posing a lot of problems. Unable to adjust to the ball coming slow to him, the left-handed Maharashtra boy could not cope with it and, despite stretching his opponent in every way possible, he was not able to stop Jeho from moving into the final.  

In the title-showdown, the MP paddler had won the North and South Zone titles before, was in discomfort but never showed it with a cool head. It helped her take a 3-2 lead but the West Bengal paddler came back at her and levelled the score. After that in the marathon decider, both had their chances but it was Poymantee who seized the moment.

Anusha was well and truly on her way when she coasted to a 3-0 lead against Prithoki Chakraborti of West Bengal. When the MP girl faltered in the fourth game, one thought it was an aberration. But Prithoki followed that win with her second in the fifth, too, giving a little scare to her rival. However, Anusha, made up for her women singles loss, to complete the task in style and enter the final.

Poymantee Baisya, on the other hand, began badly before settling down nicely to beat the stuffing out of her Delhi rival, Vanshika Bhargava. The West Bengal girl won 4-1 but third game which saw both girls losing three games points each. However, on the fourth game-point Poymantee sealed it in her favour to move ahead.

Results:

Junior Boys: Final: Suresh Raj Preyesh (TN) bt Jeho Himnakulhpuingheta (Miz) 7-11, 11-4, 7-11, 11-4, 9-11, 11-7, 11-7; Semi-finals: Suresh Raj Preyesh bt Vishwa Deenadayalan (TN) 11-4, 11-9, 2-11, 11-6, 11-6; H. Jeho bt Chimaya Somaiya (Mah) 11-13, 10-12, 11-8, 11-6, 11-2, 11-9.

Junior Girls: Final: Poymantee Baisya (WB) bt Anusha Kutumbale (MP) 11-4, 1-11, 9-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-9, 16-14; Semi-finals: Anusha Kutumbale bt Prithoki Chakraborti (WB) 11-9, 11-4, 11-5, 7-11, 8-11, 11-5; Poymantee Baisya bt Vanshika Bhrgava (Del) 6-11, 11-4, 17-15, 11-3, 11-9.

Cuttack, January 4: Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSBP) men team, making a bold statement, almost ensured their berth in the pre-quarterfinals of the 80th edition of the 11Even Sports Senior National Table Tennis Championships which began at the Nehru Indoor Stadium here today.

It was a child’s play for the PSPB men who thrashed both Maharashtra B and Bihar with an identical 3-0 scores in the first two rounds from group A to sew up their place, with a match in hand against Sikkim later tonight.

So confident were the PSPB men that they had rested A. Sharath Kamal and with G. Sathiyan holding the beacon he, Anthony Amalraj and Manav Thakkar the team was guided into a position of strength. However, Sharath is expected to enter the fray in the match against Sikkim as he was seen warming up.

In their first round they thrashed Bihar as Sathiyan won 11-7, 11-4, 11-4 against Yogesh Mathuri to set the ball rolling. Amalraj followed it up with a 11-9, 11-6, 11-4 victory to PSPB 2-0, leaving Manav Thakkar to complete the job. He won 11-3, 11-3, 11-6 against Lekh Raj.

Then they accounted for Maharashtra B, with Sathiyan starting the proceedings against Js Dalvi (11-4, 11-7, 11-9) and Sudhanshu Grover completing it against Tanmay Rane (11-9, 11-9, 11-6). In between Amalraj took a game more to beat Faegan Albuquerque 11-3, 8-11, 11-7, 12-10.

Manika Batra led PSPB’s charge in women’s affair, beating Uttarakhand 3-0. Her victim was Vanshika Yadav who lost 7-11, 6-11, 4-11, while Madhurika Patkar beat Priyana Saha 11-3, 11-8, 11-5 with Archana Kamath downing Jyoti Bharti 11-2, 11-4, 11-3 in the one-sided first round.

With only one round having been gone through in women’s team events, the group leaders had secured their first wins to make a good beginning.

Maharashtra B, despite their loss to PSPB, looked the second team to make grade from the group, having beaten Sikkim 3-0 and they will be next taking on lowly Bihar in the last round.

Last year’s runner-up Haryana defeated both hosts Odisha 3-0 and followed it up with a win over Odisha, also a 3-0 verdict.  Opening with Jubin Kumar, Haryana won the first rubber beating Bikash Kumar Singh 11-5, 11-3, 11-2. Then the experienced Sourav Saha dropped the first game against Asif Haque but managed to pull it back with a 2-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-7 as Jeet Chandra finished the task with a 11-7, 11-9, 11-7, 11-7 win over Snehamoy Mallick.

Later, playing the first rubber against Chhattisgarh, Jeet accounted for Santosh Araswilli 12-10, 11-7, 10-12, 11-9 before left-handed Jubin consolidating their lead with a 11-6, 11-6, 11-4 triumph over Sagar Ghatge as Sourav Saha beat Abhishek Raj 6-11, 11-6, 11-4, 11-5.

The teams that were in line for taking the top spot in each of the other groups were Gujarat in group C, who had won both their rounds, Tamil Nadu in group D, Maharashtra A, enjoying a walkover from Arunachal Pradesh were sitting pretty in group E, Railways in group F, West Bengal in group G and Delhi in group H. All of them have a match in hand as the last round will be played tonight before the main draw begins tomorrow morning.

Pune, October 10: Archana Girish Kamath had to summon all her skills, energy and nerves to overcome Azerbaijan’s Nign Jing 13-11, 8-11, 6-11, 11-3, 6-11, 12-10, 11-7 to enter the semifinals of the 3rd Youth Olympics Games in Buenos Aires (Argentina).

In the semifinals, to be played later tonight, she takes on China’s Yingsha Sun. A win against will put her into the medal round straightaway, failing which the Indian will have a shot at the playoff for the bronze medal.

But the spectacular fight she put yesterday in the Argentina capital must have given her enough confidence for the semifinals against the Chinese.

After taking the extended first game, Archana was hit back by Ning Jing, a Chinese original players turning out for Azerbaijan, who went 2-1 up to mount pressure on the Indian. But Archana was up to the task and levelled 3-3 before dropping the next.

At this junction, the 18-year-old had to muster courage to keep her nerves calm and approach the match with composure. And she did it marvelously to first erase the deficit and in the decider, playing like a champion, she simply demolished her opponent.

“It was a tough match and she fought till the very end. So I am very happy that I could win. But credit should also go her because she played really well,” said Archana. Asked about her plans, she just smiled and added: I am very excited about the semifinals.”

Pune, October 9: Archana Girish Kamath became the first Indian to enter the quarterfinals in women singles at the 3rd Youth Olympics Games when she beat Hong Kong’s Lee Ka Yee 4-2 (14-12, 14-12, 9-11, 8-11, 12-10, 15-13) in Buenos Aires (Argentina).

Thus, Archana avenged her YOG qualifiers’ loss in the Road to Buenos Aires series held in the Czech Republic a couple of months before she finally made the grade in the last qualifiers held in Rarontonga, Cooks Islands, in June.

In the pre-quarterfinals that lasted 40 minutes, the 18-year-old paddler from Bengaluru won the tie on her second match-point to stop Lee on her tracks after she had staged a fine recovery from a 0-2 deficit.

In the quarterfinals, she will play Jing Ning from Azerbaijan, who beat Puerto Rican  Adriana Dais, tomorrow.

In the needle match, Archana had an upper hand despite the Hong Kong paddler was just separated by a couple of points to begin win. In the first two games, Archana held her nerves to outwit on her second game point, twice over.

But a determined Lee went into attacking mode right from the word go in the third game and that paid off as the Indian was pushed into the corner and was largely playing into her opponent’s hands. Probably upset by the loss, Archana was unable to keep the ball on the table which only helped Lee’s cause. Some crucial points also went the way of Lee to propel her.

But in the fifth, Archana regained control and led by a slender margin. At 10-10, it was anybody’s game but Archana held on to go up 3-2. And in the next, Archana surged into 5-2 lead but allowed her rival to come close at 8-7 when coach Soumyadeep Roy took time-out. But unfortunately, it didn’t help as Lee leveled 8-8 and then the game went 9-9 before Archana seizing the lead at 10-9.

Leet deuced and Archana was on her first match point at 11-10 only to let her opponent off the hook. But in the end, on her second chance she grabbed it with both hands to progress.

“It was a tense game with fortunes fluctuating. I should have won the match on the first chance but somehow managed to do it on the second occasion,” said an elated Archana.

On her next opponent, Archana said she and the coach will sit and strategise tomorrow. “We have to plan for tomorrow’s match and I have to carry today’s confidence into tomorrow’s quarterfinals,” she added.

Equally happy M.P. Singh, Secretary General of TTFI, sent his congratulatory message to Archana. “You did us all proud. Play the way you have been. You are just a step away from the medal round!” he said in his message.

Meanwhile, Manav Thakkar lost his pre-quarterfinals to Japanese Tomokazu Harmoto 4-1 to make his exit in the men singles event.

Pune, October 9: Reigning national champion A. Sharath Kamal and former national champion Madhurika Patkar would be immensely happy to have ended the zonal season on a winning note, taking the men and women singles crowns in the 11Sports National Ranking (West Zone) Table Tennis Championships at the Mhalunge-Balewadi Sports Complex here today.

Sharath took just 25 minutes to dispose of final opponent Anirban Ghosh of AAI 4-0 and Madhurika finally arrested the dry spell to beat Divya Deshpande 4-2 in her final. Incidentally, they were the first titles for both this season.

Sharath has had an up-and-down run-up to the final but once he was there, he ensured he won it with authority. Taking complete control from game 1, he demolished the young Anirban, who had done to reach the final. “I needed this victory,” said the 36-year-old, whose exploits this year in the CWG and Asian Games need no repetition. But what his words reiterated was the hunger in his underbelly, the desire to win more and more titles, national or international.

Despite hitting a purple patch in the tournament, she was 0-2 down against Divya Deshpande but mustered courage to take the next four games in her own inimitable style—his forehands were as powerful as the backhands. Divya somewhat lost her way after taking a comfortable lead and could not overcome the mental block, particularly in the fifth game which was anybody’s game. When Madhurika won 12-10, it was almost curtains for Divya as she wrapped up the next in double quick time.

Gujarat’s Manush Shah, making of the absence of his bête noire, Manav Thakkar, defeated Jeet Chandra of Haryan 4-0 to claim the Youth Boys title while Sreeja Akula denied Prapti Sen another Youth Girls title as the RBI girl won 4-3 in a tough final. Sreeja clinched the decider on extended points after it was 10-all.

Manika could not repeat yesterday’s form and was easily subdued by Madhurika Patkar, who hit her purple patch in the tournament. Manika managed to win her opening game in the semifinals but could not add to the solitary point that she got in the second. She, however, fought well in the third to stay in the match but Madhurika claimed crucial points after deuce to go 2-1 up. And Manika took another game before a confidence personified Madhurika ran riot to enter the final.

In the other semifinal, Sagarika Mukherjee was no match to her rival Divya Deshpande as the latter just dropped a game before pulling herself up to reach the final. Divya played percentage game and her free-flowing shots on both flanks left the Railways girl dumbfounded.

Sharath, like yesterday, took some time before settling down and overcome a 0-2 deficit and then going up 3-2. Amalraj did all he could to come back and even took a game off him. But then the wily Sharath played a superb endgame—he was trailing 4-8 and then 8-10—to win the decider on extended points. On the other hand, Sanil Shetty fought back well from 1-3 to level 3-3 but Anirban Ghosh, running a decent lead in the sixth game, was well ahead of the PSPB lefthander. Aniban clinched the crucial two points to stop him at nine.

In Youth Boys semifinals Jeet Chandra from Haryana had to last the full course against his West Bengal rival and first-timer Kiranjoy Pushilal to win 4-3 while Manush Shah, trailing 4-8 in the decider, knocked Payas Jain, denying the Delhi boy yet another shot at the title. Payas, probably tiring, made a few crucial errors that cost him another final this season.

In Youth Girls, Sreeja Akula and Prapti Sen moved into the final, both having to endure longer resistance from their opponents Surbhi Patwari and Selenadeethi Selvakumar.

Results:

Women: Final: Madhurika Patkar (PSPB) bt Divya Deshpande ((PSPB) 7-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-9, 12-10, 11-5; Semifinals: Divya Deshpande bt Sagarika Mukherjee (RSPB) 11-6, 11-7, 11-1, 9-11, 11-6; Madhurika Patkar bt Manika Batra (PSPB) 10-12, 11-1, 13-11, 6-11, 11-9, 12-10.

Men: Final: A. Sharath Kamal (PSPB) bt Anirban Ghosh (AAI) 11-6, 11-8, 11-3, 11-5; Semifinals:  Sharath Kamal bt A. Amalraj (PSPB) 12-14, 7-11, 11-9, 14-12, 11-7, 9-11, 13-11; Anirban Ghosh bt Sanil Shetty (PSPB) 11-9, 11-9, 10-12, 11-9, 9-11, 8-11, 11-9.

Youth Girls: Final: Sreeja Akula (RBI) bt Prapti Sen (WB) 11-7, 5-11, 11-9, 14-16, 11-9, 9-11, 12-10; Semifinals: Sreeja Akula bt Surbhi Patwari (WB) 9-11, 11-9, 3-11, 11-5, 14-12, 11-5; Prapti Sen bt Selenadeepthi Selvakuar (AAI) 11-8, 5-11, 7-11, 11-3, 11-9, 5-11, 11-8.

Youth Boys: Final: Manush Shah (Guj) bt Jeet Chandra (Har) 11-6, 12-10, 12-10, 13-11; Semifinals: Jeet Chandra bt Kiranjoy Pushilal (WB) 9-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-13, 11-9, 11-9, 11-6; Manush Shah bt Payas Jain (Del) 11-8, 9-11, 11-4, 10-12, 11-9, 13-15, 11-8.

Pune, October 7: Top-seed and winner of South and East Zone titles had to really dig in to make a great escape and move into the second round of the women singles in the 11Sports National Ranking (West Zone) Table Tennis Championships at the Mhalunge-Balewadi Sports Complex here today.

Her opponent Mamata Prabhu of Dena Bank on the verge of clinching the tie at 10-9 in the sixth game—she was leading 3-2 at that stage—but allowed the Haryana girl to wriggle herself out of the rut as she deuced and went on to win the game 12-10 and equal the score 3-3. From there, the team gold winner at the 2018 CWG was a changed player as she simply demolished the former India player 4-3.

In fact, the top-heavy half saw more such matches than the bottom half but all top eight seeds moved up without much hiccups.

In other interesting matches in the top half, Priyadarsini Das of RBI was stretched fully by Maria Ro of Canara Bank before the former winning the extended decider. Divya Deshpande, No. 8 seed, was in some discomfort before overcoming AAI’s Munmun Kundu to win 4-2.

Among the seeded players, No. 2 Manika Batra beat Vanshika Bhargava of Delhi 11-9, 11-6, 11-4, 12-10. But the little put up a good resistance to stretch her in the fourth game. However, it was easy for Pooja Sahasrabudhe, the fourth seed, against Tamil Nadu’s Shanmathi Sathyamoorthy, winning the match 11-5, 11-2, 11-8, 11-7.

Among men seeds, ninth seed Jubin Kumar was staring at an imminent defeat against Gujarat’s Jignesh Jaiswal, the oldest player in fray, at 1-3. But the left-handed picked up nicely to take the last three games and move into the next round. Probably, the old legs could not sustain the pressure unleashed by the Haryana man.

But it was rather surprising to see Tamil Nadu’s Ananth Devaraj losing to youngster Shreyal Telang from Karnataka in the round of 64 1-4. Ananth had entered the semifinals in the South Zone at Vijawada a few weeks back. Similarly, Manush Shah from Gujarat, a free-flowing left-hander, was struggling before overcoming Souvik Banerjee of West Bengal 10-12, 11-8, 7-11, 11-6, 12-10, 11-9.

For other seeds, it was as easy as it can get, including top-ranked Indian in the world Sharath Kamal who went through the motions.

Important Results:

Men: Round of 64: Jubin Kumar (Har) bt Jignesh Jaiswal (Guj) 7-11, 10-12, 11-6, 7-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-5; Shreyal Telang (Kar) bt Ananth Devarajan (TN) 14-12, 11-8, 10-12, 11-9, 11-6; Arjun Ghosh (AAI) bt Mandar Hardikar (Mah) 11-6, 4-11, 6-11, 12-10, 13-11, 11-6; Parth Virmani (Del) bt Ravindra Kotiyan (RSPB) 8-11, 12-10, 11-8, 7-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-9; Jeet Chandra (Har) bt Kishore Kumar (CRSB) 11-5, 9-11, 5-11, 11-13, 11-8, 11-9, 11-6; Manush Shah (Guj) bt Souvik Banerjee (WB) 10-12, 11-8, 7-11, 11-6, 12-10, 11-9.

Women: Round of 64: Sutirtha Mukherjee (Har) bt Mamata Prabhu (DB) 13-11, 6-11, 11-7, 4-11, 9-11, 12-10, 11-8; Priyadarsini Das (RBI) bt Maria Rony (CB) 11-5, 7-11, 6-11, 11-13, 11-8, 11-8, 13-11; Divya Deshpande (PSPB) bt Munmun Kundu (AAI) 5-11, 11-6, 4-11, 11-4, 11-3, 11-4; Garima Goyal (Del) bt Deepa Neelakandan (TN) 12-10, 10-12, 8-11, 11-8, 11-8, 3-11, 11-9; Poymantee Baisya (WB) bt Shreya Deshpande (DB) 8-11, 8-11, 12-10, 11-6, 6-11, 11-6, 11-4; Sreeja Akula (RBI) bt Moumita Dutta (AAI) 11-9, 10-12, 10-12, 8-11, 11-9, 13-11, 11-5; Ayhima Mukjerjee (RBI) bt K. Shamini (PSPB) 11-5, 10-12, 11-4, 11-8, 12-14, 11-6; Mallika Bhandarkar bt Varuni Jaiswal (Telg) 8-11, 11-6, 9-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-8.

Sutirtha Mukherjee (Har) bt Mamata Prabhu (Dena Bank) 13-11, 6-11, 11-7, 4-11, 9-11, 12-10, 11-8; Selena Deepthi (AAI) bt Sushmita Bidri (Kar) 11-7, 11-5, 11-6, 11-9; Aanchal Malhotra (Del) bt Seraha Jacob (TN) 11-3, 11-5, 12-10, 14-16, 4-11, 11-6; Nikhat Banu (RBI) bt Mrunmayee Mhatre (LIC) 11-8, 14-12, 11-8, 11-8;  Sagarika Mukherjee (RSPB) bt Payal Hansapuri (Chg) 11-7, 11-7, 11-7, 11-5; Divya Deshpande (PSPB) bt Munmun Kundu (AAI) 5-11, 11-6, 4-11, 11-4, 11-3, 11-4; Amrutha Pushpak (RBI) bt Manushree Patil (Har-HoB) 11-7, 9-11, 6-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-7; Pooja Sahasrabuddhe (PSPB) bt Sathya Shanmathi (TN) 11-5, 11-2, 11-8, 11-7; Harsha Vardhini (RBI) bt Kaushani Nath (AAI) 11-8, 11-6, 12-14, 7-11, 11-8, 11-8; Oishwaryaa Deb (Har) bt N. Vidya (CRSB) 11-3, 11-6, 11-8, 11-8; Ahyika Mukherjee (RBI) bt K. Shamini (PSPB) 11-5, 10-12, 11-4, 11-8, 12-14, 11-6; S. Yashini (TN) bt Kausha Bhairapure (Guj) 11-4, 11-8, 11-5, 11-5; Manika Batra (PSPB) bt Vanshika Bhargava (Del) 11-9, 11-6, 11-4, 12-10.

Pune, October 4: There is some good news at last. A. Sharath Kamal, the top-ranked Indian in the world at No. 31, and Manika Batra, the new icon, will be part of the star parade at the 11Sports National Ranking (West Zone) Table Tennis Championships, beginning at the Mhalunge-Balewadi Sports Complex here from tomorrow.

This has come as shot in the arm for the organizers, Sudesh Shelar Memorial Foundation, which is conducting the tournament in memory of the national-level player and sports administrator, who passed away in 2006. This is the first ever venture at national level by the foundation.

Harmeet Desai, who played a major role in India’s medal hunt at Gold Coast (CWG) and Jakarka (Asian Games), has joined the parade, but G. Sathiyan with his league commitment abroad has not taken the plunge yet. However, he did participate in the Institutional championships and emerged as the men singles champion.

Both Manav Thakkar, winner of two titles this season, and Archana Kamath, will miss the tournament as they are representing India at the Youth Olympics, beginning October 6, at Buenos Aires in Argentina.

Except for these aberrations, the West Zone championships promise the usual challenges and god competitions with contenders trying to win the last zonal before the nationals get underway from December.

Anthony Amalraj, who won title at Vijayawada, would like to add the West Zone crown while Harmeet will look to upstage him. But Siddesh Pande, who became a surprise winner at East Zone, should be itching to lift the trophy a second time. He was simply superb at Guwahati.

The return of Manika Batra could see tight contests for the top podium finish as challengers Suthirtha Mukherjee, (South and East Zone winner), Pooja Sahasrabudhe (Central Zone winner) and Divya Deshpande (Institutional champion) would like to make the crown their own as Manika is coming into the tournament with little match practice.

The youth and junior paddlers have done themselves proud by challenging the authority of fancied seniors time and again. So have been the Cadet players with new faces emerging every tournament.

The prize money apart, which Rs. 7.47 lakh, there are some incentives on offer from the organizers for 10 under-15 players, who have a lot of potential. “We would be paying Rs. 50,000 each to the 10 selected (ideally five in each section) and support them,” said Rajesh Shelar, ex-international player and the brother of Sudesh. “We have raised the funds from our friends to help promote young kids, especially those in real need,” he added.

The open draw for top-ranked 16 men and eight women paddlers, conducted today at the venue by chief referee T.G. Upadhya, has given both Amalraj and Suthirta the top slots, respectively. And it is up to them to live up to the seeding.

According to the referee, 16 STAG tables, Stag plastic balls and flooring will be used during the seven-day competition, which kicks off with men and women groups matches, followed competition in Youth section. The chief referee will be assisted by deputies in A. Satheese and Rohit shinde who will be supported by 45 Blue Badge, international and national referees.

Thane, November 14: Paddlers in top six groups hardly dropped a sweat as they retained their position to move into the main draw of Sub-Junior Girls in the 11Sports National Ranking Championships (West) for the Mayor Cup at the Dadoji Konddev Stadium here today.

Tisha Kohli of Delhi, Kavyashree Baskar of Tamil Nadu, Radhapriya Goel of UP, Cathrin Tina Dass of Tamil Nadu, Sharmitha Srinivasan, also of Tamil Nadu, and Pritha Vartikar of Maharashtra easily beat their group rivals. There were similar results in some other groups, too, except for some topsy-turvy outcomes in a few where the group toppers were sent packing.

For instance, Delhi’s Tamanna Gulshan, who is ranked in the 9-16 brackets, could not take the advantage of the walkover of a player from her group and lost the only match that she had to play against Sayali Wani of Maharashtra as the latter won 12-10, 11-5, 9-11, 8-11, 11-9 in group 7.

In group 8, Meghana Karandikar of Maharashtra toppled Fatema Kadri of Gujarat in straight games to enter the main draw, courtesy the lone win and a walkover from the third player. In Group 17, Aafrien Murad of Gujarat beat both the No. 1 and No. 2 players, Sucheta Prosad of West Bengal 3-0 and then accounted for Sayali Baxi of Maharashtra 3-1 to advance. In group 19, Ratnabali Pathak of West Bengal did a similar act against Taniya Patil of Goa, beating her 3-1 and then downing Poonam Yadav of Maharashtra in straight games.

In group 22, Aneeha D’Souza of Maharashtra entered the main draw after accounting for the top two players Sania Bhowmick of North Bengal (3-0) and Kaashvi Gupta of Delhi (3-1).  There were other upsets when Sampada Bhiwandkar of Maharashtra, Aditi Joshi of Karnataka and Kalyani Dhinesh, also of Karnataka, surprised the group leaders to make it a memorable outing for them.

It will be a draw of 64 in both the Sub-Junior Boys and Girls categories with the top eight ranked players getting at least byes in the first round. The third round matches, currently on, will decide which of the 32 boys who will make the cut.

Meanwhile, the Cadet Boys and Girls group matches get underway from tomorrow.

Important results:

Sub-junior Girls Qualifying: Group 7: Sayali Wani (MHR) bt Gulshan Tamanna (DLI) 12-10, 11-5, 9-11, 8-11, 11-9;Group 8: Meghana Karandikar (MHR) bt Fatema Kadri (GUJ) 12-10, 11-9 11-8; Group 17: Aafrien Murad (GUJ) bt Sucheta Prosad (WB) 5-11, 13-11, 12-10, 11-7; Group 19: Ratnabali Pathak (WB) bt Taniya Patil (GOA) 11-4, 10-12, 11-7, 13-11; Group 22: Aneeha D’Souza (MAH) bt Kaashvi Gupta (DLI) 4-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-3; Group 23: Taneesha Kotecha (MHR) bt Nehal Venkatasamy (TN) 11-5, 11-3, 11-13, 10-12, 13-11; Group 25: Sneha Bhowmick (WB) bt Vartica Bharat (UP) 11-5, 10-12, 11-4, 12-10; Group 26: Sampada Bhiwandkar (MHR) bt Spriha Devanath (WB) 11-8, 11-6, 11-13, 11-7; Group 29: Aditi Joshi (KNT) bt Kavisha Parekh (GUJ) 11-6, 11-6, 11-13, 11-3; Group 30: Kalyani Dhinesh (KNT) bt Anoushka Chatterjee (GUJ) 11-6, 12-10, 11-7.

New Delhi, September 24: India’s Manav Thakkar and Manush Shah combined well in the Junior Boys doubles final to beat the top-seeded Chinese Taipei duo of Feng i-Hsin and Tai Ming-Wei 11-7, 11-6, 17-15 and claim gold in the 2017 Slovenia Open Junior and Cadet Open at Otocec here today.

Earlier the second-seeded Indian pair had beaten compatriots Anukram Jain and Snehit Suravajjula 11-8, 8-11, 9-11, 11-7, 14-12 in the semi-final.

In the final, the Indians unleashed their attack to put pressure on the top seeds. The left-right combination proved to be too hot for the Taipei pair which tried to comeback in the third game which saw several deuces and the pair saving four match points. In the end, Manav and Manush won the gruelling battle to win the gold.

But before the final action, both Anukram and Snehit had accounted for No. 4 seeds from Japan, Aoto Azasu and Takeru Kashiwa 3-2 in the round of 16 and then packed off local favourites Tilen Cvetko and peter Hribar from Slovokia 11-13, 11-8, 13-11, 8-11, 11-8 in the quarterfinals.

In the semifinal, too, they put up a good fight to run Manav and Manush rather too close for the latters’ comfort.

Another medal was on its way when top-seeded Jeho Himnakulhpuingheta kept his date with destiny to reach the Cadet Boys singles final. He defeated Iran’s Radin Khayyam in straight games of 11-5, 1-4, 11-9 to earn a final meeting with Ireland’s Owen Cathcard, the No. 2 seed, who accounted for Ivor Ban 11-8, 11-1, 6-11, 11-5 from Croatia. Jeho, who had earlier been beaten twice by his adversary in the Belgium Open, will get his chance to avenge those losses in the final to be played later tonight.

Earlier, Payas Jain and Diya Chitale bowed out in the Cadet quarterfinals, Radin Khayyam winning 9-11, 6-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-6 against Payas and Chen Ci-Xuan downing Diya 8-11, 11-8, 11-9, 9-11, 11-7.

New Delhi, September 22: Indian paddlers dominated the proceedings in the team events of the Junior Boys section in the 2017 Slovenia Junior and Cade Open in Otocec, as Team India ‘B’ proved superior to Team India ‘A’ in the finals to share gold and silver, in that order, today.

The B team, consisting of Snehit Suravajjula, Parth Virmani and Ajukram Jain, turned the tables against the A team’s Jeet Chandra, Manav Thakkar and Manush Shah 3-2.

Indeed, it was a surprise result in a closely-fought contest as the final went down to the wire. Yet again, it was Snehit who have India ‘B’ the ideal start when he beat Jeet Chandra 11-6, 7-11, 11-6, 2-11, 11-8 before Manav accounted for Parth Virmani 11-6, 11-4, 11-9 and Manush Shah who overcame Anukram Jain 7-11, 11-8, 11-9, 12-10.

Despite the momentum being in favour of India A, when Snehit returned to action he accounted for Manav 11-9, 8-11, 4-11, 11-8, 11-5 to level score. Taking it further, Parth downed Jeet 5-11, 11-6, 11-8, 8-11, 11-6 to secure the title for India B.

Earlier, the same trio had recorded a 3-1 quarter-final success against the outfit comprising Portugal’s Vitor Amorin and José Pedro Francisco, who joined forces with Iran’s Amin Ahmadian. With a  semi-final place booked, the same margin of victory was posted against Nikhil Kumar and Victor Liu of the United States who joined hands with Thailand’s Yanapong Panagitgun.

Meanwhile, in the other half of the draw, India ‘A’ was put to a severe test by the Slovakian outfit formed by Jakub Zelinka, Stefan Petko and Daniel Orac in the quarterfinals. A 3-2 win was the end result with Manav being the backbone of success. He beat Stefan Petko 6-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-7 and Jakub Zelinka 11-6, 11-6, 11-9 in his singles.

Having negotiated a tough quarterfinal, the A team of India upstaged Chinese Taipei trio formed by Kao Min-Chi, Feng Yi-Hsin and Tai Min-Chi, the winners the previous week in Croatia, 3-1 in the semifinal.

Incidentally, the Taipei team which had clinched gold in Varazdin, had to be satisfied with the bronze medal at in Otocec.

Ahmedabad, September 14: A thoroughbred that A. Sharath Kamal is, he was counting on the positives than the negatives soon after he was drawn in group C of ITTF-ATTF 30th Asian Cup on Thursday afternoon.

“Even if I finish second in my group, I am sure of making the semi-final cut,” said the ace paddler, who is seeded ninth here.

That was the confidence and character that spoke volumes of the Indian paddler who is currently ranked No. 47 in the world and on whom the entire country’s focus would for the next three days as one of the biggest continental events gets underway at the TransStadia from tomorrow.

Drawn in a group that has Japanese Jun Mizutani, the No. 2 seed, Korean Lee Sangsu and Chinese Lin Gaoyun, the seventh seed, one would have thought it is a tough ask for the Indian, particularly when he takes on the Korean in his opening match. Yes, Sharath has beaten him on a few occasions before and twice ran him close in recent times.

Understandably, Sharath was not thinking about that as much except admitting that the first match tomorrow would really set the tone for booking next month’s World Cup ticket in Belgium. He has dealt with the Gaoyuan, too, a few times before with an impressive track record. But he did admit in as many worlds that Japanese Mizutani would be a hard nut crack, simply because of the potent service weapons he possesses. “This guy is too good with his a variety of serves,” said Sharath.

However, he knows full well the pressure of playing in front of a crowd but he believes it is also his strength. He recalled the vociferous support he received at Jaipur in 2015. “I can hope to get a good support from the home crowd. I have shaped up well for the big event and have had good practice before coming here,” he said.

If Sharath manages to win his first game against the Korean, he has every chance of finishing the group behind the Japanese and that would, in effect, help the Indian avoid running into the Group A and Group B toppers in the quarter-finals.

The top-three finishers here will earn an automatic berth in the men’s world Cup to be held in October at Liege (Belgium), but more berths will be on offer depending on where the players finish in their ranking when the final list is compiled.

Coming to the other Indian on view, Harmeet Desai, who is turning out here on the regional quota and drawn in group D. He has Thailand’s Padasak Tanviryavechakul, Iran’s Nima Alamian and Abdulaziz Al-Abbad from Saudi Arabia for company. But whoever qualifies from the group will run into the third finishing player from group A and C in a single play-off match that will determine the last two spots of quarter-finalists. They will join two quarter-finalists each from group A and C in the main draw.

As for No. 13 seed Manika Batra, the lone Indian woman gaining a slot through the regional quota, has her task cut out in group D. She has the Thai Suthasini, Qatari Aia Mohamed and Neda Shahsavari of Iran. In fact, all of them are far behind her in ranking and hence seeded behind her. This must give some hope to the former national champion, who is ranked 104 in the world. Manika did really well to win the national ranking title just the previous week at Dharwad and it has done a world of good to her confidene.

But nobody has done as well as Liu Shiwen, a four-time winner of Asian Cup. In addition, the Chinese top seed has won the Women’s World Cup as many times and that makes her favourite for the title. In fact, Liu has a great opportunity to surpass the record of Zhang Yining and qualify directly for the World Cup to be staged in Toronto later this year. The other contenders in fray here would only be fighting out for the remaining two spots.

The Asian Cup groupings:

Dharwad, September 11: Manush Shah of the Airports Authority of India added yet another title in the Junior Boys category when he downed Jeet Chandra of West Bengal 4-1 while Swastika Ghosh of Maharashtra outplayed Selenadeepthi Selvakumar, also of AAI, to score a similar victory and claim her maiden Junior Girls crown in the LIC-IOC All India National Ranking Table Tennis Championships (South Zone) at the District Indoor Stadium here today.

Left-hander Manush Shah, who is a recent AAI recruit on scholarship, was more consistent with his winners today than his West Bengal rival, who was rendered ineffective absolutely. Jeet, who felled Manav Thakkar in the semi-final earlier, was making far too many mistakes which only aided the boy from Gujarat.

Manush was attacking from the word go. Unable to counter, Jeet was pushed to the corner. So much so that even his normal blocks seemed to have deserted him like his precise forehand winners. Gaining ascendancy and piling on the agony of Jeet, the AAI lad was severe on anything loose as he went on to accumulate quick points.

Down 0-2, the West Bengal lad banked on his never-say-die attitude to repair the damage. He did succeed and won the third game but Manush was right on the money to pull the shutters down on him, taking the next two games to lift the glittering golden trophy.

Swastika, who is still a Cadet girl, was for the first time competing in the Junior section here. Having picked a few Cadet and Sub-Junior silverwares already, it was a wise decision for her to make a try in the higher section. And, she didn’t disappoint anyone, including herself.

Probably, the 4-2 quarterfinal win over PSPB’s Archana Kamath and later the semifinal riumph over state mate Srushti Halaengadi, also by a similar margin, must have given her the confidence and nicely set her up for the final showdown against Selena.

But neither Selena’s experience, nor skills could deny Swastika her title. This was in spite of losing an extended second game as Selena fought back well. But Swastika launched herself in the nick of time, showing great maturity and intensity. Selena wilted under pressure as her counters were not coming good. Soon, it was curtains for the girl from Tamil Nadu as the Maharashtra girl went from strength to strength.

Results:

Junior Boys Singles: Final: Manush Shah (AAI) bt Jeet Chandra (WB) 11-6, 11-5, 8-11, 11-8, 11-8; Semi-finals: Manush Shah bt Yashansh Malik (Del) 11-7, 7-11, 11-8, 8-11, 13-11, 5-11, 11-3; Jeet Chandra bt Manav Thakkar (PSPB) 11-7, 11-9, 4-11, 11-5, 11-6.

Junior Girls Singles: Final: Swastika Ghosh (Mah) bt Selenadeepthi Selvakumar (AAI) 11-8, 13-15, 11-3, 11-5, 11-5; Semi-finals: Selenadeepthi Selvakumar bt Ishita Gupta 8-11, 6-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-7, 11-5, Swastika Ghosh bt Srushti Haleangadi (Mah) 11-9, 11-4, 3-11, 10-12, 11-6, 11-8.

Dharwad, September 9: Top-seed A.Sharath Kamal crept his way into the semi-finals of the LIC-IOC All India National Ranking Table Tennis Championships (South Zone) when he beat a sturdy Sougata Sarkar of LIC 4-3 at the District Indoor Stadium here today.

Second-seed G.Sathiyan brushed aside left-hander Sail Shetty’s challenge, winning his match 4-2, while Manav Thakkar and A. Amalraj eased into the next round without a sweat on a sultry evening.

Normally a free-flowing Sharath was not in his elements. Despite taking the first game with some struggle, he allowed a two-game cushion to Sougata as the LIC’s old warhorse led 3-2, putting Sharath in an awkward position. But Sharath steadied himself well at the crucial juncture knock the stuffing out of Sougata.

Sathiyan, facing a fast-paced Sanil, more or less sailed in the same boat when he allowed his rival come too close for his comfort before going all out in the sixth game to clinch it and the match.

Ankita Das was on the verge of equalling when she led comfortably in the sixth game at 7-2 but let Madhurika claw her way back into the game and take 10-9 lead. But on match point, Madhurika spilled the chance as Ankita deuced. From there, the national champion squandered four match points before winning the match on the fifth. Ankita had three game points but she could not put them into account and take the issue to the decider. Madhurika won 4-2.

PSPB’s Archana had some initial hiccups when Railways Takeme Sarkar, playing her best in recent times, challenged her supremacy. Yet, a calm and cool Archana inched her way slowly from 2-2 to take the next two games comfortably for a 4-2 verdict as the Railways paddler lost her way after a lot of promise.

As for Manika, brushing aside her initial struggle she reeled off eight straight points from 3-7 to win the fifth game to push the RBI girl, Amrutha Pushpak out of race and win 4-1. On the other hand, Suthirtha had sewn it up rather nicely against veteran Mouma Das with a 4-1 victory.

Earlier in the day, top-seed Pooja Sahasrabuddhe stumbled in the pre-quarterfinals allowing unseeded Amrutha Pushpak win 11-9, 11-6, 11-7, 2-11, 11-5. It was an ordinary game dished out by Pooja who won the Institutional women singles title in the first week of August at New Delhi. But credit must be given to the RBI girl who played brilliantly to outsmart the top seed.

In men singles, fourth seed Arjun Ghosh and sixth seed Abhishek Yadav bowed out as Subhajit Saha and Anthony Amalraj, respectively, scalped them in the pre-quarters. Saha won 11-9, 11-9, 6-11, 11-3, 4-11, 11-8 and Amalraj made it a straight games affairs with 11-8, 11-9, 11-5, 11-1 triumph. Top-seeded Sharath beat Railways Anirban Nandi 10-12, 11-7, 11-8, 8-11, 11-6, 13-11, but young Jeet Chandra ousted floater Birdie Boro in straight games. Manav Thakkar followed suit downing Siddesh Pande 4-0.

Action in Youth Boys and Girls entered the main draw stage with two rounds to be played tonight. Liberal byes in the Boys section meant that it would be a draw of 64 with the seeds getting down to business from round two. The Girls were not so luck in the 32 draw format and they would be playing two rounds tonight.

As for the Junior Boys and Girls, the qualification process gets over today with the main draw set to begin tomorrow.

Results:

Men Singles (QF): A. Sharatah Kamal bt Sougata Sarkar (LIC) 11-8, 9-11, 11-8, 2-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-5, Manav Thakkar bt Subhajit Saha (PSPB) 11-6, 11-1, 11-9, 11-4, A.Amalraj bt Jeet Chandra (WB) 11-5, 11-13, 11-8, 11-8, 11-5, G. Sathiyan bt Sanil Shetty (PSPB) 11-7, 11-4, 9-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-8.

Women Singles (QF): Manika Batra bt Amrutha Pushpak (RBI) 11-6, 8-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-7, Madhurika Patkar bt Ankita Das (PSPB) 12-10, 5-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-8, 17-15, Archana Kamath bt Takeme Sarkar (Rlys) 4-11, 11-6, 11-5, 4-11, 11-8, 11-3, Suthirtha Mukherjee bt Mouma Das (PSPB) 11-8, 11-8, 11-9, 9-11, 12-10.

Dharwad, September 5: The picturesque Dharwad, known as the Pensioners’ Paradise, will be luring for the next seven days a lot of young players to it when the city plays host to yet another major event—the LIC All India National Ranking Table Tennis Championships (South Zone)—in five years at the District Indoor Stadium, commencing here tomorrow.

Having conducted the All India Institutional Championships in 2013, the Dharwad District Association is all geared up to welcome paddlers from across the country, including reigning national champion A. Sharath Kamal, G. Sathiyan, the winner of Central Zone at Indore, A. Amalraj, the recent addition to the Arjuna Award list, Harmeet Desai and Sanil Shetty in the men section, while in the women category the who’s who of Indian table tennis will vie with each other to have a shot at the crown.

Soumyajit Ghosh, who is yet to play in a national ranking tournament this year—he participated in the Institutional meet in New Delhi—has chosen to skip the second one, too. But there are other seasoned paddlers like Sharath and the rest who have realised the significance of South Zone, the third domestic event on the TTFI calendar. So much so, there are over 800 players competing in 10 categories for the Rs. 6.70 lakh prize money which saw a 10 percent increase from the previous years.

More than the money, the ranking points carry a lot of weight when it comes to considering players for Team India duty in international tournaments abroad. With just 8 months to for the CWG in Gold Coast in Australia and the Asiad later in Indonesia, it is important for all players to get in right shape to have a look-in by the national selectors and be a part of the Team India scheme devised by TTFI with the help of foreign expert Massimo Costantini.

The players, who are now getting used to the open draw introduced for the first time at Indore, participated in it yesterday in which top 16 men and 8 women paddlers got an early wind of what to expect in the main draw. This novelty has done away with the suspense that prevailed before, thus making the contests sharp and focused.

With the top eight seeds already decided—Sharath is leading the chart in men singles while Pooja Sahasrabuddhe in women singles—the battle could get as fascinating as possible once the main draw begins. Despite Sathiyan winning the title at Indore, he is behind Sharath in seeding as the latter being an elite player has been accorded preference over the former. But for two women paddlers the South Zone could be a tricky affair Manika Batra and Mouma Das will have to begin from the scratch, having to play from the qualifiers.

However, the most unlucky among the two could be Manika Batra, the lone woman contender representing India at the forthcoming Asian Cup in Ahmedbad. During open draw, PSPB’s Archana Kamath and Poulami Ghatak edged out Manika in the toss as all the three with 55 points to each were joint seventh in the ranking. But Mouma, having missed both the Central Zone and the Institutional championships at Delhi, has no points this season. Perhaps, this will be first time in many years that Mouma has to play the qualifiers.

However, playing qualifiers is not a bad thing at all and who could vouch for it better than Sharath? With no ranking points in his kitty, the top-ranked Indian in the world had to do precisely that in last year’s South Zone at Vizag and it had done him a world of good. He went on to win the national ranking title in several years and followed it up with the national title at Manesar!

Apart from the star parade, the local flavour will keep the audience glued to their seats as they will look up to Archana Kamath, Kushi Viswanath and Anargaya Manjunath in the junior section while Sujan Bharadwaj and Akash in the sub-junior and Cadet sections to put up a grand show in front of the ‘home’ crowd.

For the championships here, STAG tables and flooring will be used while DHS balls will be in play on the first five days. STAG balls will be used for the sub-junior and cadet events only on the last two days. The event will see a deployment of 61 technical officials, including chief referee C.L. Thade, deputy referee Manjunath along with the services of veterans A.S. Kler, Henry under the leadership of competition manager G. Ganeshan.

LIC and Indian Oil Corporations, who have pitched in their might to the championships, are the main sponsors while United Commercial Bank will be the co-sponsors. Other institutions like Canara Bank, Dena Bank, SBI, AAI, Century Developers and TECHSER have also contributed in their own way to help conduct the championships.

New Delhi, August 19: The Indian pair of Soumyajit Ghosh and G. Sathiyan defeated compatriots Anothony Amal Raj and Sanil Shetty to entern the men doubles final of the Seamaster 2017 World Tour Asarel Bulgaria Open at Panagyurishte today.

The Ghosh-Sathiyan duo defeated Amalraj and Shetty in straight games of 11-3, 12-10, 11-8. The two will now take on the top-seeded Japanese duo of Jin Uda and Maharu Yoshimura in the final on Sunday. The Japanese had a tough time against Hungarians Nandor Ecseki and AdamSzudi before winning their semi-final match 11-9, 5-11, 11-4, 8-11, 11-6.

In contrast, both Ghosh and Sathiyan faced a tough encounter against Taipei’s Lin un Ju and Yang Heng-Wei in the quarterfinals which the Indians won 3-2. However, Amalraj and Shetty had an easy quarterfinal outing against Tedor Alexandrov and Denislav Kodjabashev of the host country. But when it came to facing Ghosh and Sathiyan, except for the second game where they were extended, Amalraj and Shetty failed to press home the advantage in the semfiinal.

Earlier, Manika Batra and Mouna Das lost to their opponents Matilda Ekholm and Georgina Pota, a Sweden-Hungary combine, 4-11, 11-8, 12-14, 12-14 in tough women doubles semifinal match.

Manav Thakkar, too, had to satisfy himself with the bronze after losing his under-21 men singles semifinal match to Tomas Polansky of Czech Republic 8-11, 6-11, 11-5, 8-11.

Brief Results:

Men Doubles: (Semifinals): Soumyajit Ghosh-G. Sathiyan bt Anthony Amalraj-Sanil Shetty 11-3, 12-10, 11-8; Quarterfinals: Anthony Amalraj-Sanil Shetty bt Tedor Alexandrov–Denislav Kodjabashev (BUL) 11-8, 11-9, 11-4; Soumyajit Ghosh-G. Sathiyan bt Lin Yun-Ju-Yang Heng-Wei (TPE) 5-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-4, 11-7.