Junior Diya Chitle, currently ranked No. 11 in the country, showed her mettle when she knocked out seasoned Mamta Prabhu, the top women’s seed and international in the quarterfinals of the Khar Gymkhana-5-Star Mumbai Suburban District table tennis championships, here today.
Diya Chitale
The 15-year-old oozed confidence in abundance and countered seasoned Mamta with some deadly counter-hitting. After leading 2-0, Diya trailed in the third,which she lost, but came back strongly to wrap up the next two games to clinch the women’s singles semifinal berth. Diya triumphed 11-8, 11-8, 8-11, 11-7, 11-6. Infact, the day belonged to junior girls as all the women’s singles semifinalists cause flutter all around as they sidelined their seniors. Junior Aditi Sinha packed off former champion Shalmali Gosar (4-1) and Anannya Basak hastened the exit of Shweta Joshi (4-1) while bespectacled Vidhi Shah after trailing 0-2, turned the tables on Mrunmayee Mhatre (4-2).
Results of the quarterfinals:
Women’s singles: Diya Chitale bt (1)- Mamta Prabhu 11-8, 11-8, 8-11, 11-7, 11-6; Anannya Basak bt Shweta Joshi 11-4, 11-8, 11-4, 9-11, 11-3; Vidhi A Shah bt Mrunmayee Mhatre 5-11, 9-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-7, 11-8; (2)- Aditi Sinha bt Shalmali Gosar11-4, 11-8, 11-4, 9-11,11-3.
Youth Girls singles: Vidhi A Shah bt (1)-Diya Chitale 12-10, 14-16, 11-7, 1-11, 11-8; Tia D’Souza bt Vidhi Dhoot 2-11, 11-9, 11-7, 5-11, 11-4, 11-7; Ananya Chande bt Avril Saldanha 4-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-5, 11-7; Anannya Basak bt Sampada Bhiwandkar 11-7, 11-5, 11-3, 11-9.
Jr girls singles: (1)- Diya Chitale bt Divya Keni 11-0, 11-6, 11-6, 11-7; Ananya Chande bt Mukta Dalvi 11-3, 11-7, 5-11, 11-6, 7-11, 11-9; Risha Mirchandani bt Pearl Amalsadiwala 5-11, 10-12, 11-13, 13-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-3; Sampada Bhiwandkar bt Sana Douza 7-11, 11-7, 11-7, 12-10, 11-2.
Jr boys singles (Pre-quarterfinals): : Chinmayia Somaiya bt Vishnu Ajit 11-13, 11-9, 11-2, 11-5; Arnav Karmavar bt Yash Dalvi 8-11, 5-11, 11-7, 11-2, 11-8; Aadil Anand bt Kushal Patel 11-9, 11-2, 11-4; Ritvik Nagle bt Neev Kapadia 11-8, 11-5, 12-10; Yash Modi bt Harish Lambor 11-6, 11-1, 11-3; Mainak Nishalita by Kunal Patel 11-6, 6-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-5.