Hyderabad: Third seed Manav Thakkar countered well with controlled aggression against local favourite SFR Snehit to lift the men’s singles trophy in the UTT National Ranking Championships at the Firefox Sports and Resorts facilities today.
The 4-2 triumph and the tile took a long time after the PSPB paddler’s recent indifferent form, compounded by Snehit’s nice fight to make the final memorable. Snehit’s ability to play close and away from the table and his deft placing across the net posed early problems for Manav. But he bought time before unleashing his usual backhand flicks to good effect and great counters from acute angles, including balls directed at his body.
Despite leading 2-1, the eighth seed failed to cash in when the opportunity presented itself. But his improved show in the final should prepare him for the future.
Fifth-seeded Ayhika Mukherjee’s experience and the two-side odd rubbers made her job easy against Diya Chitale, seeded No. 3, as the former claimed the women’s singles crown in the all-RBI final. The senior pro won 4-1.
Diya’s strength lies in fast counters with attacking strokes, but today she was rendered horse de combat as Ayhika, mostly using the backhand service, forced her RBI colleague into errors. However, Diya managed to pull one back, but the effort came too late in the day as Ayhika completed the task with good finishing touches.
The men’s singles semi-finals did not arouse as much interest as the women’s matches after Snehit and Manav beat their opponents, Anirban Ghosh of the Railways and Manush Shah of RBI, without breaking a sweat. The 4-0 triumphs by the Telangana and PSPB men were a foregone conclusion, especially after the way they pounded Anirban and Manush.
Yashaswini Ghorphade of Karnataka had a 2-0 advantage over Ayhika of RBI. But the RBI women hit a nice rhythm from the third game and mounted pressure on the Karnataka girl. As expected, Yashaswini wilted and faulted, first in the fourth game, which helped Ayhika take the game on her fourth game point. From there, Ayhika’s ascendancy began as she took a firm grip over the first semi-final.
In the second, Diya led 2-0 against Archana, who played a subdued game after a brilliant show yesterday. To a large extent, the credit should go to the RBI girl, as she had the measure of her opponent and complete control over the match. Archana did take the third game but never hit the groove to pose any threats to Diya.
In the Youth Boys U-19 semis, Bodhisatwa toyed with K.J. Aaksh of Karnataka before subduing him 3-1, while Ankur blanked out Rohith Shankar, also from Karnataka. In the Girls’ semi-finals, Suhana scored an emphatic 3-1 win over Taneesha Kotecha of Maharashtra, and in the all-Maharashtra match, Sayali beat Risha Mirchandani 3-1.
Sayali crowned
Sayali Wani of Maharashtra beat Suhana Saini of Haryana 4-2 in the final of the Youth Girls U-19 crown. Sayali’s fifth game-point win in the sixth game propelled her to the win, as Suhana was in the match till then. The moment Sayali clinched the point after a sustained reply from her Haryana rival, the momentum shifted, and she finished the final without prolonging the agony of dragging it to another game.
Ankur Bhattacharjee made quick amends after the first game’s loss and tamed an attacking Bodisatwa Chaudhry 4-1. There was some resistance from Bodisatwa in the third game, but Ankur was very much in control of the final as the lad added another title to his fledgling career.
Railway pair wins
Akash Pal and Poymantee Baisya of the Railways defeated the West Bengal-Railways combine of Ankur Bhattacharjee and Moumita Dutta, respectively, 3-1 in a tight Mixed Doubles final.
Results:
Men’s Singles: Final: Manav Thakkar (PSPB) bt SFR Snehit (Telg) 5-11, 13-11, 8-11, 11-3, 11-4, 12-10.
Semi-finals: SFR Snehit bt Anirban Ghosh (RSPB) 11-4, 11-6, 11-6, 11-3; Manav Thakkar bt Manush Shah (RBI0 11-7, 11-5, 12-10, 11-3.
Women’s Singles: Final: Ayhika Mukherjee (RBI) bt Diya Chitale (RBI) 11-5, 11-7, 11-4, 9-11, 11-4.
Semi-finals: Ayhika Mukherjee bt Yashaswini Ghorpade (Kar) 11-7, 11-7, 3-11, 13-15, 5-11, 6-11; Diya Chitale bt Archana Kamath (PSPB) 11-6, 14-12, 8-11, 11-6, 11-7.
U-19 Youth Boys Singles: Final: Ankur Bhattacahrjee (WB) bt Bodisatwa Chaudhury (WB) 8-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-5, 11-7.
Semi-finals: Bodhisatwa Chaudhury bt K.J. Aakash (Kar) 11-4, 11-9, 9-11, 13-11; Ankur Bhattacharjee bt Rohith Shankar (Kar) 11-6, 11-7, 11-6.
U-19 Youth Girls Singles: Final: Sayali Wani (Mah) bt Suhana Saini (Har) 7-11, 11-8, 11-9, 5-11, 18-16, 11-5.
Semi-finals: Suhana Saini bt Taneesha Kotecha (Mah) 15-13, 11-7, 3-11, 11-4; Sayali Wani bt Risha Mirchandani (Mah) 11-8, 13-15, 11-4, 11-8.
Mixed Doubles: Final: Akash Pal/Poymantee Baisya (RSPB) bt Ankur Bhattacharjee/Moumita Dutta (WB/RSPB) 11-13, 11-9, 11-4, 11-9.
–TTFI
