Dehradun: Sanil Shetty, exactly after two years, realised his dream of winning another title when he swamped top-seed Manav Thakkar in the men’s singles final of the UTT National Ranking Championships at the Multipurpose Hall here today.
The 4-0 win crown came after his Institutional Championships title in December 2019 at Ajmer. But the win also put him in a numero uno position, especially after the way he approached his game in the final.
His powerful attacks saw a few chapters of added zing, and his backhand also improving. The highly-rated Manav was often caught unawares by his body attacks that brooked little challenge from the Surat man. Overall, it proved to be a one-man show on the day and Sanil emerged as a deserving winner, carrying home Rs. 1.10 lakh in prize money.
Sutirtha began well dominating in the first two games. But Reeth, who has shown a lot of promise in recent times, took time to get her rhythm going. And, she did recover well and maintained a slender lead in the third game to win it. It did some good to her confidence, and she took the next game as well, taking a sizeable lead. But Sutirtha, aware of the lurking danger, upped her level of the game. Reeth finally wilted under pressure, and the RSPB woman took home the title and the prize purse of Rs. 1.10 lakh.
Top-seed Manav had a nice rhythm going for him in the first semifinal against fifth-seed Amalraj. Sitting pretty with a 2-0 lead, India’s No. 1 player seemed on track to notch up another easy win. But Amalraj, the fighter, came back strong to restore parity. However, Manav excelled with his close-to-the-table play and wrapped up the match.
There was no such problem with third-seed Sanil Shetty. He forced Payas, who has an excellent quarterfinal match against seventh-seed SFR Snehit, on the back foot right from the word go. Exploiting his angles well with good serves, he put the 15th-seed Payas in all sorts of trouble. Payas, unable to anticipate and counter his left-handed rival would create, fumbled more often than not.
The women’s singles semifinals failed to arouse any delight. Yet, one could witness some excellent rallies, particularly in the match between Reeth and Diya Chitale. The latter, from Maharashtra, had her moments in the second, fourth and fifth games. But she could not cash in on them. On the other hand, third-seed Reeth went with the flow and attacked to accumulate points. Her confidence also grew with the narrow wins she snatched from Diya, notwithstanding a win in the third game by the seventh-seeded Maharashtra girl.
Sutirtha, seeded ninth, had a firm grip on the match, thanks to her 3-0 lead against Anusha Kutumbale, the fourth seed. The Railways’ paddler had the right measure of her opponent from Madhya Pradesh, who showed some dynamism, taking the fourth game on extended points. However, Sutirtha pressing hard on the gas pedal finished in style to enter the final.
RESULTS:
Men’s Singles: Final: Sanil Shetty (PSPB) bt Manav Thakkar (PSPB) 11-7, 11-8, 11-5, 12-10.
Semifinals: Manav Thakkar bt Anthony Amalraj (PSPB)11-8, 11-7, 8-11, 8-11, 11-4, 11-8; Sanil Shetty bt Payas Jain (Del) 11-9, 11-8, 11-8, 11-5.
Women’s Singles: Final: Sutirtha Mukherjee (RSPB) bt Reeth Rishya (PSPB) 11-9, 11-6, 9-11, 6-11, 11-6, 11-7.
Semifinals: Sutirtha Mukherjee bt Anusha Kutumbale (MP) 11-5, 11-7, 11-9, 11-13, 11-9; Reeth Rishya bt Diya Chitale (Mah) 11-8, 11-9, 6-11, 11-9, 11-9.
