Kolkata: A new order replaced the old one for the second consecutive time. And 20-year-old Soumyajit Ghosh defeated Achanta Sharath Kamal 4-1 to be the new men’s singles champion at the Ordnance Factory Board-conducted 42nd All-India Inter-Institutional Table Tennis Championships at the Khudiram Indoor Stadium here.
When Sharth Kamal pushed the ball into the net in what was Soumyajit’s third championship point, it was all over bar the shouting for someone who has been the No. 1 seed for a decade in every domestic tournament that he had participated. A top-class paddler that he is, Sharath could not but appreciate Soumyajit’s victory and gave him a warm embrace. The title-triumph was worth Rs 75,000 for Soumyajit who had earlier annexed the men’s doubles crown in the company of Harmeet Desai.
It was also a double whammy for Poulomi Ghatak who defeated an enterprising Divya Deshpande 4-1 in the women’s singles final. She too won the women’s doubles, partnering Mouma Das. The singles victory fetched Poulomi Rs 58,000 in cash.
For winning a major title one needs the courage, especially when locked with a senior pro like Sharath. And Soumyajit showed a lot of it today and outscored his rival whenever the opportunity presented him. In fact, there were many as Sharath after taking a sizeable lead in the first three games conceded the sets to the youngster who matched No. 6 seed shot for shot. Almost all the long rallies fetched the youngster clean winners.
In the fifth game, the see-saw battled got extended a bit despite Soumyajit leading 10-8. Sharath saved two championship points and seemingly determined to take the matter to the next game. But the lead kept changing hands and at 14-13, the end came when Sharath pushed the ball into net. A triumphant Soumyajit threw his hands up in celebration for his first major title.
“This was the best match I played ever. To beat Sharath, I needed to bring out my best and I did exactly that,” he said.
That Divya was playing only her second finals—she had finished runner-up in sub-junior nationals in 2004—and that too against No. 1 Poulomi showed in her game. Poulomi, despite losing a close first game at 10-12, cut out the tactical errors in her game. The ploy of bringing Divya into forehand play, as her husband Soumyadeep Roy who was at hand to pass on tips suggested, worked wonders. Divya fell into the trap and was unable to come out of that cocoon built around her offensive game plan. More mistakes followed and Poulomi kept executing her shots which brooked little challenged from her rival.
Poulomi did admit after the final that she blindly follower Soumyadeep’s advice and things fell into place. “He pointed out certain tactical mistakes in my game and suggested the way to overcome them. I strictly followed him and it paid dividends and I am happy,” she said.
Earlier, the jinx for Anthony Amalraj continued as he went down to Soumyajit Ghosh 1-4 in the first semifinal. In the other, Sharath Kamal beat Harmeet Desai 4-2. In the women’s semifinals, No. 1 Poulomi Ghatak defeated No. 4 Ankita Das 4-0 and No. 7 Divya Deshpande accounted for No. 6 Mousmi Paul 4-1 to enter the women’s final.
Soumyajit, who had beaten Amalraj three times before in the last two years, demolished the latter by launching an early attack that upset the rhythm of his PSPB teammate. Amalraj has to blame himself for making far too many mistakes, and except for the second set which he took, he was never in his groove that was needed to make it to the final.
Sharath, despite leading 2-0, allowed Desai to claw his way back nicely and level the score at 2-2. Desai, in fact, was on game point and serving at 10-8 in the fifth but going for a push at the net gave Sharath some breather. That’s when the No. 6 showed his aggressive intent and brought the score level at 10-10 and then go on to win 12-10. In the sixth game, Sharath took early lead and Desai had his moments first when he made it 7-7 before taking a point lead at 8-7. Then at 9-9 Sharath just sealed the fate of Desai, taking the next two points for the game, set and match.
RESULTS: (All Finals):
Men’s singles: Soumyajit Ghosh (PSPB) bt Achanta Sharath Kamal (PSPB) 4-1 (15-13, 11-7, 11-9, 9-11, 15-13).
Doubles: Harmeet Desai/Soumyajit Ghosh (PSPB) bt Devesh Karia/Sayan Paul Roy (CRSB) 4-1 (10-12, 13-11, 11-8, 11-8).
Women’s singles: Poulomi Ghatak (PSPB) bt Divya Deshpande (PSPB) 4-1 (10-12, 11-7, 11-8, 11-7, 11-8).
Doubles: Poulomi Ghatak/Mouma Das (PSPB) bt K. Shamini/Mousmi Paul (PSPB) 3-2 (10-12, 10-12, 11-2, 12-10, 12-10).
By Indian Sports News Network
