Indore: Manav Thakkar made amends for the earlier losses to capture the Junior Boys title while Yashini Sivashankar emerged a worthy winner to claim the Junior Girls crown in the 11Even Sports National Ranking (Central Zone) Table Tennis Championships at Abhay Prashad Indoor Stadium here on Friday.
The Junior Boys final was an anti-climax as the PSPB paddler was in a punishing mood right from the beginning even as Snehit Suravajjula of Telangana resisted as much as he could. He fell short of three points in the first game and taking on from there Snehit posed several questions to Manav. But the two never let the game slow down which was creditable as there were quite a few fast rallies which enthralled the crowd.
Snehit had a chance in the second but could not take advantage even after making it 10-10 as Manav easily took the next two points to go 2-0 up. Perhaps this was an indication of things to come as Snehit found it difficult to find his feet and eventually succumbed to the pressure. Even otherwise, Manav needed this win in the season opener after having messed up his chances in the men and Youth sections.
If it was Selenadeepthi Selvakumar yesterday—she won her maiden Youth title—it was another Chennai girl Yashini who won her second national ranking title to her kitty. In fact, it was sort of a back-to-back crown as she picked up from where she had left off in the East Zone championships at Aizawl, the concluding championships last season, when she won her maiden crown.
It was a good match in the sense both Prapti and Yashini had their chances but eventually it was Yashini who put it across in the decider, claiming many a crucial winner. This is precisely what separated the two as both fought well, without yielding an inch to the other.
Yashini was 2-3 down which included an extended game that went to her opponent. But credit must be given to the Chennai lass who kept her patience and played percentage game when it mattered the most, particularly in the decider, leaving the West Bengal girl far behind.
Just four gold medals remaining, the main draw events in the sub-junior and Cadet sections begin later tonight.
Results:
Junior Boys: Final: Manav Thakkar (PSPB) bt Snehit Suravajjula (TEL) 11-8, 12-10, 11-7, 11-8;
Semi-finals: Snehit Suravajjula (TEL) bt Anukram Jain (PSPB) 12-10, 11-4, 11-2, 9-11, 10-12, 11-2; Manav Thakkar (PSPB) bt Shubh Goel (DEL) 11-6, 11-8, 11-7, 11-7.
Junior Girls: Final: Yashini Sivashankar (TN) bt Prapti Sen (WB) 11-9, 9-11, 7-11, 12-10, 8-11, 11-7, 11-4; Semi-finals: Prapti Sen (WB) bt Kushi Viswanath (KAR) 8-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-7, 11-3, 8-11, 11-7; Yashini Sivashankar (TN) bt Manushree Patil (MAH) 5-11, 11-2, 11-4, 9-11, 11-7, 11-6.
