Manav Thakkar of PSPB was in outstanding form and outplayed his opponents, enroute to winning the Junior Boys singles title, while Tamil Nadu’s Yashini Sivashankar emerged a worthy winner to claim the Junior Girls singles crown in the 11Even Sports National Ranking (Central Zone) Table Tennis Championships, which is being played at Abhay Prashad Indoor Stadium, here, on Friday.
Yashini Sivashankar in action against Prapti Sen in the Junior Girls final
Manav romped to 4-0 win against Snehit Suravajjula of Telangana in the Junior Boys final and Yashini overcame Prapti Sen of West Bengal in a closely fought Junior Girls final.
The Junior Boys final was an anti-climax as the PSPB paddler was in a punishing mood right from the beginning even as his rival Snehit Suravajjula of Telangana resisted as much as he could. He fell short of three points in the first game and taking on from there Snehit posed several questions to Manav. But the two never let the game slow down which was creditable as there were quite a few fast rallies which enthralled the crowd.
Manav Thakkar
Snehit had a chance in the second but could not take advantage even after making it 10-10 as Manav easily took the next two points to go 2-0 up. Perhaps this was an indication of things to come as Snehit found it difficult to find his feet and eventually succumbed to the pressure. Even otherwise, Manav needed this win in the season opener after having messed up his chances in the men and Youth sections.
The Chennai girl Yashini, won her second national ranking title. She had emerged champion in the East Zone championships at Aizawl, the concluding championships last season, when she won her maiden crown.
It was a good match in the sense both Prapti and Yashini had their chances but eventually it was the Chennai paddler who put it across in the decider, claiming many a crucial winner. This is precisely what separated the two as both fought well, without yielding an inch to the other.
Yashini was 2-3 down which included an extended game that went to her opponent. But credit must be given to the Chennai lass who kept her patience and played percentage game when it mattered the most, particularly in the decider, leaving the West Bengal girl far behind.
Results : Junior Boys – Finals: Manav Thakkar (PSPB) bt Snehit Suravajjula (TEL) 4-0 (11-8, 12-10, 11-7, 11-8); Semi-finals: Snehit Suravajjula (TEL) bt Anukram Jain (PSPB) 4-2 (12-10, 11-4, 11-2, 9-11, 10-12, 11-2); Manav Thakkar (PSPB) bt Shubh Goel (DEL) 4-0 (11-6, 11-8, 11-7, 11-7).
Sub-Junior Girls – Final: Yashini Sivashankar (TN) bt Prapti Sen (WB) 4-3 (11-9, 9-11, 7-11, 12-10, 8-11, 11-7, 11-4); Semi-finals: Prapti Sen (WB) bt Kushi Viswanath (KAR) 4-3 (8-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-7, 11-3, 8-11, 11-7); Yashini Sivashankar (TN) bt Manushree Patil (MAH) 4-2 (5-11, 11-2, 11-4, 9-11, 11-7, 11-6).