Raman-Baboor in final

NEW DELHI, FEB 14: India’s S Raman and Chetan Baboor entered the men’s doubles final in the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships with a straight games victory over a Singaporean pair on Monday. The second-seeded duo of national champion Raman and Baboor, the highest-ranked Indian, beat Duan Yong Jun and Zhang Tai Yong, seeded third and fourth, 21-11, 21-16 at the Toa Payoh Sports Hall in Singapore, according to information received here. Earlier, Raman and Baboor beat Koh Chin Guan and Luo Jie of Singapore 21-13, 21-9 in the quarter-finals, while Duan Yong and Zhang Tai beat the Canadian pair of Pradeeban Peter-Paul and Horatio Pentea 21-9, 21-17.

Hosts Singapore are sure of two more titles to add to the women’s team crown they have already claimed, AFP adds from Singapore.

In the doubles matches played on Monday, Singapore pairs made it to the finals of the women’s and mixed doubles events. The day belonged to the unseeded local mixed doubles pairing of Sen Yew Fai and Tan Paey Fern, who ousted threeseeded pairs en route to the final.

Story continues below this ad

Sen and Tan met the 5-8 seeds Alex Perry and Helen Lower and recovered from the loss of the opening game to win 21-23, 21-17, 21-15.

Then it was the turn of the second-seeded pair of Peter Jackson and Karen Li of New Zealand, when once again the local pair fought back for a 17-21, 24-22, 21-18 victory and a berth in the semi-finals.

Faced with the 3-4-seeded compatriots Zhang Tai Yong and Jing Jun Hong, the unseeded Sen and Tan continued their giant-killing spree with a straight 21-13, 21-19 demolition.