National TT: Manav, Naina are sub-junior champions

Siliguri: Manav Thakkar from the PSPB Academy and Andhra Pradesh’s Naina were crowned in the Sub-Junior Boys and Girls sections, respectively, at the National Ranking (East Zone) Table Tennis Championships which concluded at the Municipal Stadium here today.

Top-seed Thakkar beat his West Bengal rival Ronit Bhanja 4-1, while No. 3 seed Naina upset No. 1 Moumita Dutta, also from West Bengal, 4-3 to see that no paddler from the zone claimed the two titles. The lone exception was Udit Bhattacharya who beat his West Bengal challenger Rohan Ghosh to win the Cadet Boys crown. However, the Cadet Girls title went to Goa’s Tainish Kirtani.

Thakkar was a slow starter in the final, but once he had the measure of his opponent he surged ahead without blinking an eye. Bhanja won the first game to give some hope for the audience from the zone, but Thakkar had his own plans as he finished of the match in less than 25 minutes.

Naina kept her chances very much alive the moment she won the crucial sixth game to make it 3-3. In the decider too, Naina had a 4-point cushion at 8-4 but allowed the West Bengal girl first to level the score, and then lead 10-9 on Moumita’s serve. Nevertheless, the Andhra girl clinched the two crucial points on her serve and when Moumita served, Naina made a deep return. But the West Bengal girl’s push just touched the net cord for the ball to fly out.

Cool Kirtani wins

In Cadet Girls final, Tainish Kirtani from Goa played percentage game to wear the crown. The 10-year-old Goan showed maturity beyond her age to beat her North Bengal rival Neha Kumari 4-3. After a comfortable lead, Kirtani trailed 2-3 before pulling up her socks to outwit Neha in the last two games. In the final of the Cadet Boys, West Bengal’s Rounak Majumder defeated state mate Rohan Ghosh 4-0 to win the crown. Majumder was far superior to Ghosh and it reflected in the way he demolished his opponent.

Earlier, in the semi-finals of the Sub-Junior Boys, Manav Thakkar of PSPBA came into groove after spending some anxious moments in the first round last night and in the quarterfinals this morning. But luckily for the top seed, his semi-final opponent from Assam was no match and Thakkar won 4-0. But West Bengal’s Ronit Bhanja was not as lucky as Akash Nath from North Bengal made Bhanja earn his points for a spot in the final.

Top-seed Moumita Dutta subdued her state mate Poulami Das 4-2 after her initial struggle while Andhra Pradesh’s Naina had no such problem in overcoming Tamil Nadu’s Abhinaya Ramesh in the semi-finals of the Sub-Junior Girls. In the Cadet Girls semi-finals two new faces in Tanishi Kirtani from Goa and Neha Kumari of North Bengal emerged following the exit of top-ranked players, while two West Bengal boys Udit Bhattacharya and Rohan Ghosh made it to the Cadet Boys title round.

Results:
Sub-Junior Boys: Final: Manav Thakkar (PSPBA) bt Ronit Bhanja (WB) 4-1 (6-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-7, 11-6); Semi-finals: Manav Thakkar (PSPBA) bt Sankab Gautam Baruah (ASM) 4-0 (11-9, 11-1, 11-3, 11-9), Ronit Bhanja (WB) Akash Nath (NB) 4-2 (11-9, 4-11, 9-11, 13-11, 11-9, 11-6).

Sub-Junior Girls: Final: Naina (AP) bt Moumita Dutta (WB) 4-3 (11-8, 10-12, 11-8, 9-11, 6-11, 11-9, 12-10); Semi-finals: Moumita Dutta (WB) bt Poulami Das (WB) 4-2 (8-11, 16-14, 12-14, 11-8, 11-7, 11-9), Naina (AP) bt Abhinaya Ramesh (TN) 4-1 (11-4, 11-6, 11-4, 4-11, 11-5).

Cadet Boys: Final: Udit Bhattacharya (WB) bt Rohan Ghosh (WB) 4-0 ( 11-8, 11-6, 11-7,11-7); Semi-finals: Udit Bhattacharya (WB) bt Rounak Majumder (WB) 3-0 (11-3, 11-9, 11-3), Rohan Ghosh (WB) bt Chinmay Somalya (MHR) 3-1 (11-9, 8-11, 11-8, 17-15).

Cadet Girls: Final: Tanishi Kirtani (Goa) bt Neha Kumari (NB) 4-3 (11-3, 11-7, 7-11, 8-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-7); Semi-finals: Tanishi Kirtani (Goa) bt Swastika Ghosh (MHR) 9-11, 11-6, 9-11, 11-6, 11-8), Neha Kumari (NB) bt Nikita Sarkar (NB) 3-1 (7-11, 11-9, 13-11, 11-8).