Shreya Deshpande of Thane crushed the title aspirations of home contender Vidhi Shah of TSTTA, Mumbai by easing to a comfortable 4-2 victory in the best-of-7-game Women singles final of the RYP-Dr. Ramesh Yashwant Prabhoo Memorial 1st Maharashtra State Ranking Table Tennis Tournament 2021-2022, conducted by TSTTA under the auspices of the MSTTA and played at the Prabodhankar Thackeray Krida Sankul, Vile Parle.
Shreeya Deshpande, (Thane)
The Thane paddler started slowly and surrendered the first game to her Mumbai opponent. But showing solid determination Shreya bounced back to snatch a closely fought second over extra points and then dominated the third which she easily won to edge ahead 2-1. The bespectacled Vidhi ran away with the fourth game to level the match scores. But, thereafter, Shreya regained her winning momentum and hit some superb winners as she dictated terms and went on to pocket the next two games to wrap up the contest and seal the gold medal. Vidhi who seemed to have lost the plot in the end had to settle for the silver medal.
Earlier in the semi-finals, Shreya dropped the first two games and still managed to get the better of another TSTTA challenger Anannya Basak by romping to victory in six well-contested games. The Thane paddlers took time to find her rhythm and Anannya took optimum advantage to race towards a 2-0 lead. Shreya put up a brave approach and with controlled steady play managed to wrest the upper hand and went on to win the next four games to send Anannya crashing out. Shreeya recorded a 7-11, 7-11, 11-8, 14-12, 11-5 and 11-8 victory.
In the other semi-final encounter, Vidhi also faced a strong challenge from compatriot Ananya Chande and had to dig deep to pull through in six games. Ananya did well to comfortably win the first two games, but Vidhi did not come under pressure and instead started to call the shots and came out trumps with the scores reading 5-11, 5-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-3 and 11-8 in her favour.
Results: Women –
Quarter-finals: Anannya Basak (TSTTA) beat Senhora D’Souza (MCD) 12-10, 8-11, 11-3, 11-5, 11-8;
Shreya Deshpande (THN) beat Risha Mirchandani (TSTTA) 11-5, 11-9, 11-8, 11-6;
Vidhi Shah (TSTTA) beat Shruti Amrute (THN) 11-9, 11-7, 11-9, 10-12, 14-12;
Ananya Chande (TSTTA) beat Eesha Joshi (PNA) 8-11, 11-6, 6-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-7.
Semi-finals: Shreya Deshpande (THN) beat Anannya Basak (TSTTA) 7-11, 7-11, 11-8, 14-12, 11-5, 11-8;
Vidhi Shah (TSTTA) beat Ananya Chande (TSTTA) 5-11, 5-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-3, 11-8.
Final: Shreya Deshpande (THN) beat Vidhi Shah (TSTTA) 8-11, 15-13, 11-7, 5-11, 11-4, 11-6.