The Suburban Table Tennis Association (TSTTA), Mumbai paddlers returned with a rich haul of 16 medals (7 golds, 2 silvers and 7 bronzes) in the 83th Maharashtra State Table Tennis Championship which concluded in Nashik and Dhule, early this month.
Raegan Albuquerque : Men’s Singles Gold Medalist
TSTTA President Arvind Prabhoo was overjoyed with the team’s tremendous performances. “It’s a fantastic achievement by our TSTTA players, which is one of the best performances by the entire contingent. This huge number of medals won was possible mainly due to the consistent hard work and dedicated efforts of the players, coaches and the parents which has richly contributed to this overall success,” said Prabhoo.
TSTTA’s charge was inspired by the duo of Raegan Albuquerque and Jash Modi, both winning double crowns. Albuquerque clinched the Boys’ under-21 and Men’s singles titles while Modi claimed the Boys under-19 and under-17 titles.
Madhurika Patkar : Women’s Singles Gold Medalist
International Madhurika Patkar emerged supreme in the Women’s singles competition while Sana D’Souza and Risha Mirchandani snatched the top honours in the Girls’ under-15 and Girls under-21 events respectively, to complete the gold medals collection.
The silver medal winners, was Param Bhiwandkar in the Boys’ under-11 category and Vidhi Shah who lost to the highly experienced and senior teammate Patkar in the Women’s final. Shah finished third in the Girls’ under-19 event to also pick up a bronze medal.
The other bronze medal winners, was Arshia Rai (3rd) in the Girl’s under-11, Akshat Jain (4th) in Boys’ under-15 competition, Sharveya Samant (4th) in Boy’s under-17 and Mainak Nistala and Aashay Pisal both finishing fourth position in the Boys’ under-19 and under-21 categories respectively. Anannya Basak also claimed a bronze medal with a fourth place finish in the women’s category.
“I along with my executive committee members congratulate the medal winners and the other players and thank them all for bringing glory to TSTTA. We (TSTTA) will be felicitating all the players at a function to be held sometime later,” Prabhoo further stated.
TSTTA Chairman Yogesh Desai and Hon. Gen. Secretary Sameer Bhate, both lauded the efforts of the players. “It was a commendable effort by the entire team and coaches. Despite missing the services of leading players, which included Sanil Shetty, Ravi Kotian, Diya Chitale, Reeth Rishya and Mukta Dalvi, we still managed to win seven gold medals out of the 14 events. We are proud of the players,” Desai and Bhate opined.
Results —
Women’s final: Madhurika Patkar of (TSTTA) defeated Vidhi Shah of (TSTTA) 4-1 (11-4, 11-4, 11-7, 2-11, 12-10).
Men’s final: Raegan Albuquerque (TSTTA) defeat Dipit Patil (Thane) 4-0 (11-5, 11-8, 11-3, 11-7).
Girls’ under-21: Risha Mirchandani (TSTTA) defeated Isha Chavan (Thane) 4-0 (11-7, 11-9, 11-9, 15-13).
Girls’ under-15: Sana D’Souza (TSTTA) defeated Shubha Bhat (Thane) 4-0 (11-7, 11-6, 11-5, 11-8).
Boys’ under-21: Raegan Albuquerque (TSTTA) defeated Jitendra Yadav (Thane) 4-1 (11-9, 10-12, 11-9, 11-3, 11-3).
Boys’ under-19: Jash Modi (TSTTA) defeated Kushal Chopda (Nashik) 4-1 (9-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-3, 11-6).
Boys’ under-17: Jash Modi (TSTTA) defeated Kushal Chopda (Nashik) 4-3 (9-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-8, 10-12, 8-11, 11-8).