Chennai: Akur Bhattacharjee of West Bengal emerged the Boys’ singles champion of the Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG), after downing Priyanuj Bhattacharyya of Assam 4-2 at Tamil Nadu Physical Education and Sports University facilities on the last day of the Games today.
The 4-2 win came after some midway struggle, as the Assam lad proved a good matchup for the champion. Priyanuj would not mind the silver he claimed, particularly after his comeback win in the semifinals yesterday against Sarth Mishra of UP, who led 2-0.
Yet again, he staged a remarkable recovery today and made inroads, giving a scare to Ankur, who led 3-0. But the Assam boy failed to sustain in the face of a repeated onslaught in the sixth game from Ankur, who led comfortably. In the end, Priyanuj had to give up after some initial resistance. Ankur, incidentally, is the Youth National champion. He won the title in Kolkata last month.
GOLD FOR UP PAIR
The two Uttar Pradesh players will leave Chennai with much satisfaction as Divyansh Srivastava and Sarth Mishra finally earned what they deserved—a gold in the Boys’ doubles—after winning the final 3-2. Their opponents in the final from Bengal, Ankur Bhattacharjee and Bodhisatwa Chaudhury, touted to win the title, had to be content with the silver medal.
The UP boy started well and ended well. They went 2-0 up quickly before allowing the Bengal duo to claw its way back and level the score. However, in the decisive game, UP paddlers made most of their rivals’ failures and claimed the game and the match for a top-of-podium finish.
The match kept everyone hooked, as one witnessed long rallies and precise finishes.
Credit also goes to the Bengal paddlers for staging an excellent recovery from 0-2 behind and dragging the match to the last game, besides giving some torrid moments early on. Divyansh, despite a problem with his sprained leg, managed to stay afloat and combine with Sarth for the gold.
On the penultimate day, Sarth beat Divyansh to claim the bronze in the playoff.
Results:
Boys’ Singles: Final: Ankur Bhattacharjee (WB) bt Priyanuj Bhattacharyya (Asm) 11-6, 15-13, 11-7, 7-11, 7-11, 11-7.
Doubles: Final: Divyansh Srivastava/Sarth Mishra (UP) bt Ankur Bhattacharjee/Bodhisatwa Chaudhary (WB) 11-4, 12-10, 4-11, 7-11, 9-11.
