JOIN USSanil, Ankita crowned champions
PSPB paddlers register stunning victories
Youngsters Sanil Shetty and Ankita Das were crowned men’s and women’s singles champion respectively at the 75th Senior National Table Tennis Championships here on Sunday.
Second-seeded Shetty defeated his PSPB team-mate Harmeet Desai 11-9, 11-7, 10-12, 12-10, 7-11, 11-7 while fourth seed Ankita Das, also of PSPB, drubbed AAI’s Krittwika Sinha Roy 11-9, 12-10, 11-8, 13-11 to take home the winners’ purse of Rs 2.30 lakh and Rs 1.45 lakh respectively.
Incidentally, Shetty is the first national champion to emerge from Mumbai after the great Kamlesh Mehta, who last won the title in 1995.The men’s singles clash had all the ingredients befitting the final, unlike the women’s final which never rose to any dizzy heights.
The left-handed Shetty proved too hot for Desai who, in the morning, had upset all calculations to account for Achanta Sharath Kamal at the Patliputra Sports Complex here.
Desai, however, failed to raise his game in the final and his game lacked aggression.
In fact, Shetty was on a rampage right from the start which allowed little leeway to Desai. In a way, the latter was astounded by Shetty’s attack on both flanks.
It paid rich dividends as Shetty reeled off winners after winners to unsettle his rival. For a brief period though, Desai tried to come back but once Shetty ran up a 7-3 lead and 10-5, it was all over for Desai.
As for Ankita, she hardly broke a sweat against Krittwika and it reflected in the score line against her AAI opponent in the women’s final.
Found wanting
Krittwika was found wanting on many fronts and Ankita just exploited them to her advantage.
Making a mockery of the seeding yet again, men’s top seed Sharath and women’s No 3 K Shamini bowed out without a fight in thier respective semifinal encounters.
Desai, who had never won against Sharath, was the better player on the day as he controlled the match tactically. To begin with, Sharath was serving bad – three bad misses in the first game set the tone -– and his misery was compounded by his weak backhand. Desai, on the other hand, was full of aggression and exploited Sharath’s weakness on the backhand to the fullest.
Results:
Men: Final: Sanil Shetty (PSPB) bt Harmeet Desai (PSPB) 11-9, 11-7, 10-12, 12-10, 7-11, 11-7.
Semifinals: H Desai bt Achanta Sharath Kamal (PSPB) 13-11, 11-7, 6-11, 11-8, 11-6; S Shetty bt Soumyadeep Roy (WB) 13-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-13, 11-6.
Women: Final: Ankita Das (PSPB) bt Krittwika Sinha Roy (AAI) 11-9, 12-10, 11-8, 13-11.
Mixed Doubles: Final: Sanil Shetty/ Neha Aggarwal (PSPB) bt Arjun Ghosh/ Mousi Pal (WB) 15-13, 12-10, 7-11, 14-12.