Four-gone conclusion at national TT

As a young kid, Poulomi Ghatak was such a terror at home that her parents decided to channel her energies into table tennis. That Nupur Sant...

As a young kid, Poulomi Ghatak was such a terror at home that her parents decided to channel her energies into table tennis. That Nupur Santra, a former National champion, was a close relative helped. The Tollygunge Baisakhi Sangha, a club near the Ghataks’ residence in Kolkata, became the new playing field for Poulomi.

She became junior national champion in 1996 and suddenly the success kick-started a passion. Since then, she’s become the talk of the Indian table tennis circuit, winning her fourth national crown here on Monday. Though Ghatak emerged a 4-3 (11-9, 11-7, 11-6, 8-11, 7-11, 3-11, 12-10) victor, the 55-minute riveting contest could have gone her opponent’s way too.

The final went according to the script in the initial stages with the top seed Ghatak racing to a 3-0 lead. The match was headed for a tame finish with Ghatak tightening the screws in the fourth game forging ahead 3-0.

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But that’s when the 19-year-old Das made her move. She opted for a time out, paced around, took a deep breath and trudged back to the table. Suddenly, the baby-faced Das (20) was a transformed person. Das creamed off three games (11-8, 11-7, 11-3) and took the contest into the decider.

The men’s singles final that followed was a relatively easy affair for veteran Subramanian Raman. Playing his ninth final, Raman used his experience to control the proceedings and upstage Arup Basak 4-2 (9-11, 11-1, 11-8, 11-7, 7-11, 11-8).

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