Double for Poulami

CHANDIGARH, Nov 25: When there is a national event and if it happens to be a table tennis final, it is expected to be all-Bengal affair. ...

CHANDIGARH, Nov 25: When there is a national event and if it happens to be a table tennis final, it is expected to be all-Bengal affair. Such is the depth of the game in the state. Truly, the players from the eastern part of the country today kept their reputation intact and were seen battling for top honours in both boys and girls final on the concluding day of the 61st Stroh8217;s Junior National and Inter-State table tennis championships at the Sector 23 Indoor Table Tennis Hall.

In all-Bengal final in the boys singles event, unseeded Shubham Chaudhary overpowered his state mate Ranbir Das 17-21, 11-21, 21-12, 21-15, 21-14, to take the day8217;s honour while top seed Poulami Ghatak Bengal retained her title by defeating unseeded Mouma Das Bengal 18-21, 21-11, 21-16, 21-18, to wears the girls singles crown.

It was grand double for Poulami, who earlier, paired with Mouma Das to outplay BM Ashwini and Shruthi Prasad Karanataka 16-21, 21-12, 21-12, to win doubles final.

The boys contest between Ranbir Das and Shubham Chaudhary, however, lacked element of the final. What everyone expected to be a keen competition took off slowly with both the paddlers playing cautiously and the game also ended on the same note.

Ranbir, who accounted for second seed Sudantu Das of Petroleum Sports Control Board Academy PSCBA in the semifinal, matched his opponent moves in the first set but faded in the closing stage to lose by four points 17-21. The eventual winner was also error prone in the second set which gave Shubham Chaudhary 2-0 lead.

But rejuvenated Ranbir came on the course to the title by pocketing the third set 21-12. He took the initial lead and went on to win the set which marked his superiority in the game over his opponent Shubham, who beat top seed Anal Kashyap PSCBA in the semis.

Then on it was Ranbir all over. He won the fourth set to level the score 2-2, and put all his efforts to win the decider 21-14 and clinched the title.

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In the girls final, Poulami took time to settle down and after one set deficit fought back to beat her rival Mouma Das 18-21, 21-11, 21-16, 21-18, to win the title for the second time in a row.

Poulami shrugged off her early lethargy and tested Mouma Das in the second set with her forehand shots to which the latter had no answer. After 1-1 each, Poulami appeared more confident and was less error prone in the third set. She repeated her performance in the decider to take home the trophy 3-1.

The Bengal boys, however, took a back seat in the doubles final when the duo of Anirban Nandi and Amit Das lost to Anal Kashyap and Soumyadeep of PSCBA 12-21, 21-16, 18-21.

Meanwhile, the final match in both girls and boys group was disrupted by more than 30 minutes due to electrical fault at the Indoor Hall.

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Results: Boys: Final: Ranbir Das Bengal bt Shubham Chaudhary Bengal 17-21, 11-21, 21-12, 21-15, 21-14. Semifinal: Shubham Chaudhary Bengal bt Anal Kashyap PSCBA 14-21, 21-14, 21-13, 21-14; Ranbir Das Bengal bt Sudantu Das PSCBA 21-14, 21-15, 13-21, 21-14. Doubles: Anal Kashyap and Soumyadeep Roy PSCBA bt Anirban Nandi and Amit Das Bengal 21-12, 16-21, 21-18.
Girls: Final: Poulami Ghatak Bengal bt Mouma Das Bengal 18-21, 21-11, 21-16, 21-18. Semifinal: Poulami Ghatak Bengal bt Susmita Roy Bengal 21-10, 21-12, 21-15; Mouma Das Bengal bt Mamta Prabhu Maha 21-10, 24-26, 12-21, 21-11, 21-11. Doubles: Poulami Ghatak and Mouma Das Bengal bt BM Ashwini and Shruthi Prasad Kar 16-21, 21-12, 21-12.