Sameer clinches title in fine style

Maharashtra lad secures 9 points

In his final-round match, Kathmale defeated State-mate Gopal Ashok Rathod. Lakshmi Sand-eep Naidu of AP scored 8.5 points while Karnataka’s Vijendra YG tallied eight points to finish second and third respectively.

Final standings: Sameer Kathmale (Mah, 9 points) 1; Lakshmi Sandeep Naidu V (AP, 8.5) 2; Vijendra  YG (Kar, 8) 3; Akash Pc Iyer (TN, 7.5) 4; Gopal Ashok Rathod (Mah, 7.5) 5; Deepthamesh Reddy M (AP, 7.5) 6; Abhilash Reddy ML (AP, 7.5) 7; Gopal Shah (Guj, 7.5) 8; Shivkumar LV (AP, 7) 9; Ramakrishna Perumalla (AP, 7) 10.

Important results (final round): Sameer Kathmale bt Gopal Ashok Rathod (Mah, 7.5); Vishal Rao (Kar, 7) lt to Lakshmi Sandeep Naidu V (AP, 8.5); Rupankar Nath (WB, 6.5) lt to Vijendra; Kishan Gangolli (Kar, 7) drew Shivkumar LV; Deepthamesh Reddy M bt Mukund G Bhatt (6.5); Augustin A (Kar, 6.5) lt to Akash Pc Iyer; Gopal Shah bt Joy Chauhan (Guj, 6.5); Abhilash Reddy ML bt Darshan VPS (Kar, 6.5); Linda Rangarajan (Pud, 7) bt Santoshkashyap HG (Kar, 6); Sharang MS (Kar, 7) bt Harihara Sudan M (TN, 6); Raghunandan KS (Kar, 6) lt to Ramakrishna Perumalla; Vasantha Ruba Varman (TN, 6) lt to Satvik M (Kar, 7); Vivekananda L ( Kar, 6.5) drew Cholleti Sahajasri (AP, 6.5); Nagaraj A (Kar, 6.5) bt Hanumantha R (Kar, 6); Balasubramanian Rajaram (TN, 6.5) bt Ravindra Teja Muttineni (AP, 5.5); Atharva Godbole (Mah, 5.5) lt to Bhagwat SM (Kar, 6.5); Sadashiva V (Kar, 6.5) bt Benadikar Shashank D (Kar, 5.5); Akshay V Halagannavar (Kar, 5.5) lt to Sushrutha Reddy (Kar, 6.5); Aravinda BR (Kar, 6.5) bt Karthik Reddy P (AP, 5.5); Mukesh M (TN, 6.5) bt Prabhat Koutha (AP, 5.5).