Soumyajit, Ankita give no quarters to PSPB players

LUCKNOW, January 28:  It was a well-written script and the picture was perfect until the pre-quarters. The much-awaited twist in the tale in men’s singles of the 73rd Senior National and Inter-State Table Tennis Championships at the SAI sub-centre hall came about only after the interval as the quarterfinals began with all top-eight seeds taking centre-stage.

The twist in the picture was given by North Bengal’s Soumyajit Ghosh, who defeated No.4 Sanil Shetty of PSPB 4-2, while the match between Soumyadeep Roy and Subhajit Saha on table No. 3 reached the climatic proportion to live up to the standards expected of super stars. In the other quarters, Sharath Kamal defeated RSPB’s Anirban Nandi 4-2 and A. Amal Raj, despite being a little wobbly, accounted for G. Sathiyan for the same score-line.

This was, indeed, required in the singles action, particularly after the women’s quarter-finals were simple and straightforward, lacking spice. Poulami Ghatat, Ankita Das, Mouma Das and defending champion K. Shamini occupied their top perch positions shutting out whatever little challenge on their way.

In the entire scenario, the odd man and woman out are, fortunately, from North Bengal which could pose a formidable challenge considering the way both Soumjajit Ghosh and Ankita Das played today. Though Ghosh will run into Sharath Kamal, Ankita will take on Poulami Ghatak in the semi-finals.

Of the eight top-billed matches in both sections, only two stood out for more than one reason. If Ghosh displayed his aggressive style of play, it was the calm and composed Saha who, despite being stretched to seven games, played his cool game to outwit Roy. Down 8-9 in the decider, Roy was forced into frustrating shots which helped Saha first level at 9-all and take the next of Roy’s service.

On match-point, Saha served well and pushed when the return came. But Roy, in his anxiety to level the score, went for a forehand smash but only managed to send the ball out, much to the relief of Saha. Earlier, in their see-saw match, fortunes fluctuated from one extreme to another, but the two acquitted themselves well to keep them in the game all the time drawing appreciation from the crowd.

Ghosh, on the other hand, kept himself floating with Shetty countering well and even sending in his blistering forehands. But what was remarkable about the match was the two spent quality time on the table, engaging one another with their bagful of tricks. Ghosh led 2-1 after losing the opening game before Shetty taking the fourth game to give jitters to Ghosh. But with his experience and adequate exposures abroad, Ghosh prevailed over his rival to take the next two games to seal the issue.

If Sharath was a little rusty on the day against Nandi, so was Sathiyan against No. 2 Amal Raj. However, the results of the two matches were a foregone conclusion despite Sharath and Raj allowing their opponents some liberty.

While Ghatak allowed Divya Deshpande more liberty—the latter managed to take two games off her—the lone North Bengal women Ankita blanked out Pooja Sahastrabudhe in straight games in less than 50 minutes. Mouma allowed just one game for her opponent Mamta Prabhu while Shamini was in a hurry to put it across Madhurika Patkar of Maharashtra. Shamini who won 4-0, will take on Mouma in the semifinals tomorrow.

RESULTS:

MEN’S SINGLES (quarterfinals): A Sharath Kamal (PSPB) bt Anirban Nandi (PSPB) 4-2 (11-4, 8-11, 11-4, 11-9, 6-11, 11-6), Soumyajit Ghosh (NB) bt Sanil Shetty (PSPB) 4-2 (8-11, 11-4, 11-9, 9-11, 11-5, 11-3), Subhajit Saha (PSPBP bt Soumyadeep Roy (PSPB) 4-3 (11-8, 4-11, 11-9, 6-11, 12-14, 11-8, 11-9), A. Amal Raj (PSPB) bt G. Sathiyan (PSPB) 4-2 (11-6, 11-9, 5-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-8). Pre-quarterfinals: A Sharath Kamal (PSPB) bt V Nitin (PSPB) 4-0 (11-9, 11-8, 11-1, 11-8), Anirban Nandi (RSPB) bt Sourav Chakraborty (WSB) 4-3 (7-11, 12-10, 11-5, 12-10, 8-11, 12-14, 11-9), Soumjit Ghosh (NB) bt Jubin Kumar (PSPB) 4-0 (-11-8, 11-1, 12-10, 11-4), Sanil Shetty (PSPB) bt Devesh Karia (Guj) 4-3 (6-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-9, 9-11, 14-16, 11-3), Subhajit Saha (PSPB) bt Raj Mondal (NB) 4-0 (11-8, 11-7, 11-4, 11-7), Soumyadeep Roy (PSPB) bt Souvik Kar (WB) 4-2 (11-5, 9-11, 6-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-7), G. Sathiyan (PSPB) bt Harmit Desai (Guj) 4-0 (11-5, 11-9, 11-8, 11-9), A. Amal Raj (PSPB) bt Aman Balgu (RSPB) 4-1 (11-7, 11-8, 9-11, 11-5, 11-7.

WOMEN’S SINGELS (quarterfinals): Poulami Ghatak (PSPB) bt Divya Deshpande  (Mah A) 11-7, 11-4, 9-11, 14-12, 5-11, 11-5; Ankita Das (NB) bt Pooja Sahastrabudhe (Mah B) 11-4, 11-6, 11-9, 12-10; Mouma Das (PSPB) bt Mamta Prabhu (Mah A) 10-12, 11-1, 11-5, 12-10; 11-8; K Shamini (PSPB) bt Madurika Patkar (Mah A) 13-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-6. Pre-quarterfinals:  Poulami Ghatak (PSPB) bt Mallika Bhandarkar (Mah-A) 4-3 (6-11, 4-11, 11-2, 11-8, 11-6, 9-11, 11-3), Divya Deshpande (Mah-A) bt Kasturi Chakraborty (PSPB) 4-2 (1-11, 3-11, 12-10, 11-3, 11-9, 11-9), Ankita Das (NB) bt Soumi Mondal (PSPB) 4-0 (11-5, 11-5, 11-5, 11-6), Pooja Sahastrabudhe (Mah-B) bt Sukanya Bose (NB) 4-1 (14-12, 3-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-8), Mouma Daas (PSPB) bt Taniya Dutta (NB) 4-0 (11-9, 11-7, 11-3, 11-8), Mamta Prabhu (Mah-A) bt Manika Batra (PSPB) 4-1 (6-11, 11-5, 11-7, 12-10, 11-3), Madhurika Patkar (Mah-A) bt Neha Aggarwal (PSPB) 4-1 (9-11, 11-9, 13-11, 11-5, 11-7), K. Shamini (PSPB) bt Shweta Parte (Mah-A) 4-2 (11-9, 11-8, 11-1, 8-11, 11-13, 11-7).