Kendriya Vidyalaya Kankarbagh in semifinals

Kendriya Vidyalaya Kankarbagh beat Delhi Public School Patna 1-0 and entered the semifinals of Anu Anand Cup Inter-School Football Tournament at New Police Lines ground in Patna on December 27, 2014. Ajay Kumar netted the match-winner in the 19th minute.
Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Shankar Das wins McLeod Russel Tour Championship, earns Rolex Player of the Year title

Kolkata, December 28, 2014: Kolkata’s Shankar Das won the Rs 1.5 crore McLeod Russel Tour Championship after his final round of three-under-69 at his home course, the Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC). Shankar as a result of his win also topped the Rolex Rankings and bagged the Rolex Player of the Year title for 2014. 

Das totaled 16-under-272 for the week to register the biggest win of his career.Kapurthala’s Gaganjeet Bhullar and Abhinav Lohan of the DLF Golf & Country Club, Gurgaon, were joint runners-up at 13-under-275 as they fired matching scores of 68 in round four.

Shankar Das (68-70-65-69), who started the final round with a two-shot lead, came out a determined man on Sunday. Shankar’s burning desire to win in front of his home crowd for the first time was reflected in his solid start as he birdied the first hole from 20 feet. Das, who was also in search of the Rolex Rankings crown, carried on the good work with another birdie on the fourth hole.

The three-putt bogey on the 11th didn’t dampen Shankar’s spirits as he hit an outstanding tee shot on the par-3 13th and thereafter sank a 12-footer for birdie. The ever-smiling Shankar once again seemed unfazed after the dropped shot on the 14th as he came back stronger with birdies on the 15th and 16ththanks to some excellent wedge shots. The 31-year-old made pars on the last two holes to seal a comfortable three-shot win and take home his fifth tournament trophy. Das thus earned a handsome pay cheque of Rs 23,77, 500, the highest ever for a domestic tournament in India.  

Shankar, who was ranked third in the money list at the start of the week, finished with total earnings of Rs. 54,32,067 for the 2014 season and therefore overhauled Bangalore’s Chikkarangappa S in the race for the Rolex Player of the Year. Chikkarangappa, who finished fourth at this week’s event, ended the year with total earnings of Rs 47,15,336 to claim second place in the Rolex Rankings for the second year running.

  

“This is definitely the biggest win of my career. It’s helped me become number one on the PGTI for the first time. It’s also great to win on my home turf for the first time. The overwhelming support from the RCGC members, my family and friends through this week played a huge role in my performance. It’s been a tough time for my family this year. I missed about four tournaments midway through the season due to my mother’s poor health. However, I came back stronger on the tour with some good performances and top-5 finishes. It’s great to end the year with a win, my first in over 15 months. I will now aim to use my country spot to good effect on the Asian Tour next year,” said a beaming Shankar.

He added, “I didn’t bother too much about the leader board today and focused on playing a good round. I was lucky to get off to a good start with a birdie on the first. The birdie on the fourth really set up the round for me as my confidence was soaring by then. The best shot of the day was the tee shot on the 13thwhere I successfully negotiated a tough pin position.”

Gaganjeet Bhullar came into his own on the final day with a 68 that featured five birdies and a bogey. Bhullar did mount a challenge with a hat-trick of birdies on the back-nine but Shankar’s late charge on the 15th and 16th put paid to Gaganjeet’s title hopes.

Abhinav Lohan also mixed five birdies with a lone bogey on Sunday to end up in joint second along with Bhullar. Lohan, as a result, climbed from 16th to seventh position in the final Rolex Rankings.

Bangalore’s Chikkarangappa, who required a runner-up finish to seal the Rolex Rankings title, claimed fourth position at 12-under-276 after his final round of 69 and thus ended up in second position in the money list.

Delhi’s Shamim Khan finished a further stroke behind Chikka in fifth place. Shamim made five consecutive birdies from the 13th to the 17th during his fourth round effort of 71.

Gurgaon-based Shubhankar Sharma, the leader in the first two rounds, fired an incredible albatross on the par-5 fourth during his final round of 70. He holed his four-iron second shot from 224 yards to achieve the rare feat. This was only the fourth albatross on the PGTI. Sharma secured sixth place in the tournament as he totaled eight-under-280 for the week.

“It was unbelievable. I didn’t see the ball go in but I only realized I had made an albatross when I was walking up to the green and my playing partner Anura Rohana informed me that my ball was in the hole,” said a delighted Shubhankar.

Kolkata’s SSP Chowrasia shared seventh spot with Sri Lankan K Prabagaran at seven-undeer-281.

Arjun Atwal, another local favourite, ended ninth at six-under-282 in his maiden event on the PGTI. He shot a final round of 72.

The 2013 Rolex Rankings champion Rashid Khan of Delhi, who equaled the course record of 63 earlier in the week, was tied 10th at four-under-284 along with Sri Lankans Anura Rohana and Mithun Perera and Delhi’s Vinod Kumar.

Kolkata golfer Rahil Gangjee was joint 20th at one-under-287.

Jamshedpur’s Karan Taunk, who finished tied 61st this week, won the 2014 PGTI Emerging Player of the Year title for recording the highest earnings among the rookies this season. Taunk’s earnings for 2014 stood at Rs 5,83,095. Sanjeev Kumar of Lucknow finished second in the Emerging Player list with season’s earnings of Rs 4,70,281.

  

Prize Presentation Picture - Caption:

Shankar Das (4th from left) receives the winner's cheque and trophy from (L to R) Mr. Padamjit Sandhu, Director, PGTI, Master Akhil Khaitan representing McLeod Russel, Mr. Rajeev Takru, Director, McLeod Russel, Mr. Aditya Bajoria, Captain, RCGC and Mr. Uttam Singh Mundy, Director, PGTI.

PGTI Press release and photo

Shankar Das surges ahead with timely 65; throws hat in the ring for Rolex Player of the Year title

Shankar Das

Kolkata, December 27, 2014: Shankar Das of Kolkata fired a timely seven-under-65 to surge ahead in round three of the Rs. 1.5 crore McLeod Russel Tour Championship at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC) on Saturday. Shankar's three-day total now stands at 13-under-203 and he enjoys a two-shot lead over his nearest rival Rashid Khan of Delhi who shot a 71 in the third round. Delhi's Shamim Khan lies third at 10-under-206.

Shankar's third round effort, the day’s joint best score, meant he too emerged as a strong contender in the Rolex Rankings race besides Rashid Khan and Chikkarangappa. Das is currently placed third in the Rolex Rankings.

Shankar Das (68-70-65), who was overnight tied sixth, shot his best score of the week on day three as he came up with an eagle and eight birdies against three bogeys. Das, playing at his home course, began his day on a bright note with an eight-foot birdie conversion on the first. He then stumbled with bogeys on the second and third due to some errors in judgment. The 31-year-old turned the tide in his favour with an eagle on the par-5 fourth where he found the green in two shots and sank a 10-footer.

Shankar, a winner of four titles, then went on a birdie-spree on the sixth, eighth, 10th and 12th after landing it within six feet on all four occasions. His approach from 150 yards stopped within a whisker of the hole on the eighth. The bogey on the 14th was a minor blip as Shankar produced a fine chip shot on the 15thand two 25-footers on the 16th and 18th to earn three more birdies.

“The bogeys early on were disappointing. On the second, I didn’t go by my gut feeling as far as club-selection is concerned and ended up with a poor tee shot. I then hit a half-hearted shot on the third. The eagle on the fourth was the turning point for me. I knew I could pick up the pace from there on. I then almost sank putts at will and fired a near-perfect approach on the eighth,” said Shankar, who has posted seven top-5s on the PGTI in 2014.

He added, “I know I’m in contention for the Rolex Player of the Year but I won’t let that distract me from my primary target of winning this event. Even though I’ve done well in most events this year, I haven’t won anything. There’s a burning desire to notch my first victory in over a year. That thought will motivate me in the final round.

“I love the support I’ve been receiving on the course this week. Both my kids have walked the course with me on all three days. Today they were joined by my nephews and nieces as well. The RCGC members and my friends are also constantly cheering me on. The tremendous crowd support did wonders for my confidence today. I’d love to win my first event at my home course in front of my family and friends,” said Shankar.

Rashid Khan (71-63-71), who matched the course record in round two with a superb 63, had a relatively quieter day on Saturday as he carded a 71. Rashid, however, hung on to his overnight second position at 11-under-205. He continues to be in the reckoning in the Rolex Rankings race.

Khan had a forgettable start as he bogeyed the first and then found the water hazard to drop another shot on the third. He did pick up five birdies thereafter but the double-bogey on the 16th, where he found the hazard, put paid to his efforts.

Rashid, still a contender in the Rolex Rankings, said, “I had a poor start just like round one. I did recover after that but the double-bogey did the damage. A good start will be the key to my chances in the final round as two shots is not a big lead.”

Shamim Khan returned a 69 to be placed third at 10-under-206.

Abhinav Lohan’s 65, the day’s joint best score along with Shankar’s round, catapulted him from overnight tied 14th to tied fourth at nine-under-207. The Faridabad-based professional had a run of five consecutive birdies from the 12th to the 16th.  

Bangalore’s Chikkarangappa S kept himself in the hunt for the Rolex Rankings title with a 72 that helped him join Lohan in tied fourth place.

Gaganjeet Bhullar of Kapurthala also took a share of fourth position after his round of 70.

Sri Lankan Mithun Perera (68) occupied seventh place at seven-under-209 while the Kolkata duo of SSP Chowrasia (68) and Arjun Atwal (72) were a further shot back in joint eighth along with overnight leader Shubhankar Sharma (77) of Gurgaon.

Rahil Gangjee (72), another local lad, is in 11th place at five-under-211.

Rolex Rankings: Shankar Das throws his hat in the ring

With Shankar Das taking the third round lead, it’s now clearly a three-way race for the Rolex Player of the Year title between Chikkarangappa, Shankar Das and Rashid Khan. The equation for the three golfers to guarantee themselves the Rolex Rankings crown is as follows: Second-ranked Chikkarangappa needs to finish at least runner-up at the McLeod Russel Tour Championship while both third-ranked Shankar Das and fourth-ranked Rashid Khan need to win the Rs. 1.5 crore event and at the same time hope Chikkarangappa doesn’t finish runner-up.

PGTI Press release

Ankita beats Katy to win NECC-ITF title

 Ankita Raina

Pune, December 27, 2014: Ankita Raina capped her tumultuous year with an inspiring straight set victory over Briton Katy Dunne to win the $25,000 NECC-ITF tennis title, a first for an Indian after a gap of 14 years, at the Deccan Gymkhana courts on Saturday.

Ankita made a positive start to the match and after Katy began throwing her frustration around the Indian grabbed the initiative to win the summit clash 6-2, 6-2.

Having played quite a few three-setters during the week, Ankita was ready for the worst, and that boosted her confidence by a few notches as she took control of the proceedings once Katy began falling apart.

The then National champion Radhika Tulpule had won the title in the inaugural year in 2001 when she beat Archana Venkatraman in three sets and since then four more Indians made it to the summit clash—Isha Lakhani doing it twice—but failed to get past the final hurdle.

“My goal now is to get into top 200 of the WTA Rankings. This year I was defending a lot of points of 2013 that’s why my rakings hovered around 290,” said Ankita after her win.

Ankita will move up in the 250-260 bracket after the WTA rankings are published on Monday as she won 50 valuable points for her title triumph.

“Since I was playing this final in Pune and with the kind of support I got from fans, I wanted to give my best,” said Ankita who now heads to Kerala for the National Games.

“Very excited to do it on home ground,” added Ankita.

The match began on equal terms as the two players held their own service games till 3-2 when Ankita broke Katy in the sixth game. She then took the seventh game at love before breaking the Briton again to wrap up the first set 6-2.

“When the second set began, I decided to hurry up the things. Even though I was broken in the opening game, I calmed myself down and waited for Katy to commit mistakes,” explained Ankita.

After Ankita lost her first service game in the second set, at 1-2 she shot back to bring the set on level when Katy double faulted.

The turn of things frustrated Katy and when she threw her racket she was given a warning by the chair umpire. Katy again double faulted in the sixth game when she was down 30-40 to hand 4-2 lead to Ankita.

The Indian then took the next game without much of a fuss and then earned two championship points at 15-40 before Katy returned long for Ankita to script 6-2, 6-2 win.

“It didn’t go as well as I had hoped for. I had a good week winning over better rated players, and I expected to do well today,” said Katy Dunne.

Prizes were given at the hands of Mr. BSR Sastri, GM, NECC and Mr. Mukund Joshi, Tournament Director.

Photo Caption 3: Winners with chief guests (from L to R) Mukund Joshi, Ankita Raina, BSR Sastri, Katy Dunne and Sheetal Iyer.

Press release

Manav wins maiden title; Archana retains sub-junior girls’ crown

Rajahmundry, December 27, 2014: Manav Thakkar of Petroleum Sports Promotion Board Academy (PSPBA) beat Parth Virmani of Delhi 4-1 to win the sub-junior boys’ title while Archana Kamath Girish of Karnataka downed Varuni Jaiswal of Andhra Pradesh 4-2 to retain the sub-junior girls’ crown in the 76th Cadet and Sub-Junior National Table Tennis Championships at the Cherukuri Convention Centre here today.

PSPBA’s Jeho Himnakulhpuingheta defeated team mate Alberto Lrruta 4-2 for the Cadet Boys and Delhi’s Vanshika Bhargava downed Diya Chitale of Maharashtra 4-2 in the Cadet Girls final for their maiden title-trophies.

Manav, having missed a golden opportunity at Ajmer, went on a cruise mode despite his opponent matching him both in speed and agility to sew it up rather nicely. The final saw fast-paced rallies and good strokes being played as the full-to-the-brim hall witnessed a gripping final. Manav, who had a fantastic season—he won all the four national ranking championships—and it was showing in his game today. No doubt, Parth played a brave game but Manav was a notch above him all the way through. Manav received a cash prize of Rs. 29,000 for his effort.

Triple for Archana

Archana Kamath Girish added the singles gold to the doubles title that she won earlier in the day in the company of Kushi Viswanath. Three days before she had annexed the team gold to complete a triple-crown feat here. Today’s win was worth Rs. 24,000 in prize money.

The top-seed from Karnataka girl was under pressure as compared to Varuni Jaiswal. With the crowd support behind the latter, Archana had to muster courage after being 0-2 and come good against the Andhra girl who had nothing to lose.

Archana, after losing the first two extended games, came into herself to take the third game rather easily. That was the warning bells for Varuni and understandably was forced into the back foot when Archana started attacking, beautifully unleashing her forehand weapon and using the flanks intelligently.

Yet, she was guilty of giving away some easy points to her opponent. Nevertheless, she had the measure of her rival and levelled the score 2-2. Having accomplished the first task, she went on a rampage taking the fifth and sixth without a fuss.

“The expectations were high and I was under pressure, to start with. I am happy I was able to come back and retain the title. No doubt, the doubles and team gold had given me confidence. It was a great experience and a good season, too,” said the 14-year-old from Archana, who won her first national title last year at Ajmer, brought back Karnataka on track. That was the first title for the state in 13 years.

Nail-biting finials

Earlier, in a fantastic nail-biting Cadet Boys final that went down to the wire,Jeho Himnakulhpuingheta his PSPBA team mate Alberto Lrruta 4-3 to justify his top-seed billing. Since the two boys, playing at the Ajmer Academy, knew each other’s game so well the final was played in the same spirit. If Jeho was good in attack, Alberto counted it with good defence. When Alberto, with serve on, misjudged the trajectory of the ball at 10-11 in the decider, he sunk to the floor in frustration and remained there until Jeho stretched his arm to lend a helping hand to shake hand.

Delhi’s Vanshika Bhargava won her maiden Cadet Girls title beating Maharashtra A’s Diya Chitale in a tough final. Vanshika picked her momentum after the third game and went 3-1 up before losing the extended fifth at 14-16. Yet, what made the difference to her title victory was that Vanshika won those crucial points, including in the sixth game at 12-10.

The Results:

Sub Junior Boys: Final: Manav Thakkar (PSPBA) bt Parth Virmani (DLI) 4-1 (11-9, 15-13, 10-12, 11-4, 11-13); Semifinals: Parth Virmani (DLI) bt Manush Shah (GUJ) 3-2 (11-8, 11-7, 11-8, 8-11, 12-10), Mananav Thakkar (PSPB-A) bt Sarthek Seth (UP) 3-1 (11-6, 11-4, 11-8, 11-4); Quarter Finals:  Manav Thakkar (PSPB-A) bt Subbramanian Ashwin (MHR-A)11-8, 11-5 , 11-1, Sarthak Seth (UP) bt Shivjit Singh Lamba(DLI) 11-5, 11-5, 7-11, 7-11, 12-10, Parth Virmani (DLI) bt Gurumurthy Chithresh (TN) 6-11, 11-3, 11-9, 11-3, Manush Shah (GUJ) bt Shaurya Pednekar (MHR-A) 11-3, 11-3, 10-12, 11-8.

Doubles: Final:Manav Thakkar/Anukram Jain (PSPBA) bt Shaurya Pednekar/Ashwin Subramaniam (Mah-A) 3-1 (11-6, 10-12, 11-7, 11-5).

Sub Junior Girls: (Final): Archana Kamath Girish (KNT) bt Varuni Jaiswal (AP) 4-2 (11-13, 11-13, 11-7, 11-7, 11-6, 11-4, 11-8); Semifinals: Kamat Archanga (KNT) bt Srushti Haleangadi (MHR-A) 3-2 (14-12, 11-5, 11-8, 4-11, 11-4), Varuni Jaiswal (TEL) bt Anusha Anusha Kutumbale(MP) 3-1 (11-5, 11-7, 11-5, 11-7); Quarterfinals: Kamath Archana(KNT) bt Patwari Surabhi (WB) 8-11, 11-7, 11-13, 11-7, 11-3, Srushti Haleangadi (MHR-A) bt Vanshika Bhargava (DLI) 11-5, 15-13, 11-4, Varuni Jaiswal (TELG) bt Priyanka Pareek (RAJ) 11-5, 11-4, 7-11, 13-11, Anusha Kutumbale(MP) bt Snehal Patil (MHR-B) 3-11, 12-10, 11-7, 11-5.

Doubles: Final: Archana Kamath/Kushi Viswanath (MNT) bt Selenaddepthi S/Yashini S (TN) 3-0 ( 14-12, 11-4, 11-7).

Cadet Boys (Final): Jeho Himnakulhpuingheta (PSPB-A) Alberto Lrruta (PSPB-A) 4-2 (10-12, 11-9, 11-6, 8-11, 11-4, 8-11, 12-10); Semifinals: Jeho Himnakulhpuingheta (PSPB-A) bt Jayabrata Bhattcharjee (NB) 3-0 (11-5, 11-9, 11-5), Alberto Lrruta (PSPB-A) bt Satyam Giri Gupta (UP)  3-2 (11-9, 7-11, 11-2, 3-11, 13-11); Quarter Finals:  Jeho Himnakulhpuingheta (PSPB-A) bt Sourajit Halder (WB) 12-10, 11-6, 11-9, Jayabrata Bhattcharjee (NB) bt Varun Shankar Balusuri (TELG) 11-9, 11-8, 11-6, Gupta Satyam Giri (UP) bt Riswav Dey (WB) 6-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-5, Alberto Lrruta (PSPB-A) bt Dev Shroff (MHR-A) 11-8, 10-12, 11-8, 11-8.

Cadet Girls: (Final): Vanshika Bhargava (DLI) bt Diya Chitale (MHR-A) 4-2 (11-6, 5-11, 11-8, 11-8, 14-16, 12-10); Semifinals: Vanshika Bhargava (DLI) bt Sharmitha Srinivasan (TN) 3-2 (16-14, 5-11, 11-3, 8-11, 12-10), Diya Chitale (MHR-A) bt Swastika Ghosh (MHR-A) 11-8, 13-15, 14-12, 14-16, 11-9; Quarter Finals:  Vanshika Bhargava (DLI) bt Nithyashree Mani (TN) 11-9, 11-9, 3-11, 11-7, Sharmitha Srinivasan (TN) bt Suhana Saini (HRN) 11-2, 11-6, 11-9, Swastika Ghosh (MHR-A) bt Narang Laksita (DLI) 11-5, 11-7, 11-6, Diya Chitale (MHR-A) bt Kavyasree Bhaskar (TN) 11-2, 11-6, 11-9.

A TTFI Press release

Delhi keep a clean slate, Maharashtra win a tough battle

New Delhi, December 27, 2014: Delhi boys kept their slate clean and claimed full points on day two of the 37th Sub-Junior National Volleyball Championships, beating Jharkhand 25-22, 25-22, 25-16 in what turned out to be a one-sided affair at the Ajmal Khan Park here today.

The other match in the boys’ section that attracted attention were the ones between Jammu and Kashmir which the former won 25-23, 18-25, 25-27, 25-23, 15-09 after being taken the full distance. Most other matches were stretched a bit but Assam downed Telangana 26-24, 25-16, 23-25, 25-23, Tamil Nadu won over Maharashtra 25-15, 25-15, 25-22, Gujarat beat Odisha 23-25, 25-18, 25-18, 25-12 and Rajasthan downed Haryana 25-23, 25-17, 19-25, 27-25.

In other pool matches, Manipur defeated Puducherry 25-27, 25-09, 25-10, 25-12, Chhattisgarh beat Goa 25-21, 25-21, 25-23 and Up accounted for Kerala in straight sets of 25-13, 25-13, 25-12 and Gujarat posted a 22-25, 25-12, 25-10, 25-19 win over Himachal.

In girls’ matches, Haryana overcame a fighting Maharashtra as the Delhi neighbor won 25-16, 19-25, 25-21, 25-14. The other winners were Manipur against Bihar (27-25, 25-15, 25-06, Chhattisgarh against Punjab 25-17, 28-26, 25-21 besides Telangana beating MP 25-21, 25-14, 25-04, Kerala winning over Punjab 25-14, 25-12, 25-14, Karnataka downing Uttrakhand 25-04, 25-11, 25-08 and Punjab making amends with a 25-13, 25-10, 25-05 win over Bihar.

Karantaka won their second match as well beating Chhattisgarh 25-22, 25-19, 25-22, UP beating Manipur 25-07, 25-06, 25-10 and Telangana accounting for Uttarakhand 25-08, 25-11, 25-13.

With Delhi being in the grip of severe cold, some of the players, particularly from down south, were not only battling it out on the court but also the weather conditions. Yet, there was no lack of enthusiasm among the members of all participating teams and the organizers who are taking all care to keep the players in the comfort zone.

Avdesh Coudhary, VFI president, is also overlooking the arrangements made to take care of the players comfort along with organizers Panthers Sports Society.

Press release

Delhi spikers have a mixed bag on Day One of National Sub-Jr Volleyball

New Delhi, December 26, 2014: Delhi had mixed day in the 37th Sub-Junior National Volleyball Championships, being played at the Ajmal Khan Park here today. The Delhi boys posted an easy win over Andhra Pradesh as they beat them 25-23, 25-17, 25-18 in their pool match, but the hosts’ girls team failed to cross the Haryana hurdle and went down 20-25, 18-25, 22-25.

But it was the match between Himachal Pradesh girls and Andhra Pradesh that took the most attention which Himachal won in four sets of 25-17, 25-17, 20-25, 25-22.

But for this outing all other pool matches were more or less one-sided with the fancied team cross the line without a hiccup in both sections.

As for the Delhi boys, their match was never a cakewalk but they had a very good combination that helped them overcome a stiff resistance from Andhra boys. After taking the first set with bare minimum points at 25-23, they made a strong comeback to beat them in the next two rather easily. Price was the star cast for the Delhi team as his intense spiking ability put the team ahead of their rivals.  

Uttarakhand beat Goa in straight sets of 25-12, 25-8, 25-23. By the time Goa came with some kind of the fight in the last, it was too late and too little for them. Similarly, Manipur downed Jharkhand 25-18, 25-18, 25-18 with the latter not able to do much against a good northeast outfit.

In other girls matches, Maharashtra downed Odisha 25-4, 25-9, 25-5 and Uttar Pradesh defeated Bihar 25-4, 25-4, 25-6. Bihar proved to be a mismatch for UP as they kept spiking and things were only made easy, thanks to Bihar’s loose defence.

Earlier, the championships were inaugurated by Volleyball Federation president Avdesh Choudhary and secretary-general Ramavtat Jhakar.

The championships are organized by Panthers Sports Society and the event is happening after 30 years in Delhi.  

Press release

Rashid Khan matches course record with phenomenal 63 to move into second

Rashid Khan 

Kolkata, December 26, 2014: It turned out to be an eventful second day at the McLeod Russel Tour Championship as Delhi's Rashid Khan matched the course record at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC) with a phenomenal nine-under-63 to climb from overnight tied 14th to second place at 10-under-134. Rashid, currently fourth in the Rolex Rankings, has now also emerged as a major contender for the Rolex Player of the Year title. Gurgaon's Shubhankar Sharma maintained his overnight lead after a round of three-under-69. Shubhankar is now one shot clear of Rashid at 11-under-133.

Chikkarangappa of Bangalore, who closed the day in third place at nine-under-135, continues to be another top contender for number one position in the 2014 Rolex Rankings.

Indian golfing great and local favourite Arjun Atwal came up with the day's second-best score of 66 to rise from overnight tied 22nd to tied sixth at six-under-138.

Rashid Khan (71-63), a two-time winner on the Asian Tour this year, followed up his sedate opening round of 71 with an incredible 63 on Friday to match the course record which was earlier jointly held by American Edward Fryatt and Arjun Atwal. While Fryatt achieved the feat during his 1997 Indian Open triumph, Atwal equalled the score en route a tournament victory in 2001.

The 23-year-old Rashid produced a hat-trick of birdies from the fourth to the sixth, landing it within six feet on two occasions. This was followed by three birdie conversions from a range of 15 to 20 feet on the ninth, 10th and 13th. The icing on the cake for Rashid was the eagle-birdie combination on the 15th and 16th. He hit an accurate three-iron second shot from long range on the par-5 15th to set up his eight-foot eagle putt.

“I had a feeling that I would shoot a six or seven under today since I made some subtle changes in my putting stroke after yesterday’s round. I made the changes as I needed to feel good with the putter. These changes seemed to have worked for me as I converted some long putts in round two. It’s great to equal the course record. I’ve always done well at RCGC, having won two amateur tournaments here. I also won last year’s Rolex Rankings after finishing sixth at RCGC during the 2013 edition of the McLeod Russel Tour Championship. I’ll therefore head into the last two rounds with loads of confidence,” said Rashid.

The prolific Khan added, “It’s been a terrific year for me so far with three wins under my belt, including two on the Asian Tour. The international exposure this year has helped me raise my game. I know I’m now also in contention to retain my Rolex Player of the Year title, but instead of focusing on that, I’d like to just play to my potential in the last two days of the season.”

Shubhankar Sharma (64-69) mixed five birdies with two bogeys to hold on to the lead on Friday. While the 18-year-old knocked in three long birdie putts, including a mammoth 35-footer on the eighth, he also dropped two bogeys as a result of errors in club-selection.

“My driving was probably better as compared to round one but my iron-hitting wasn’t that great. I also didn’t enjoy a good start today. I’ll look to improve on my iron-play in the next two rounds. I feel I just need to keep grinding it out and make the first six holes and the last four holes count as those holes present the most scoring opportunities,” said Shubhankar, currently ranked 11th in the Rolex Rankings.

He added, “I held my own in a high-pressure situation at the Panasonic Open last month by finishing fourth. So I know I can face the tough challenge this week as well.”

The 21-year-old Chikkarangappa kept himself in the hunt for the title this week as well as the Rolex Rankings crown after a round of 69 that placed him third, two strokes off the lead.

Gaganjeet Bhullar and Delhi’s Shamim Khan are joint fourth at seven-under-137.

The Kolkata duo of Arjun Atwal and Shankar Das occupies tied sixth place at six-under-138. Shankar (70), currently third in the Rolex Rankings, is also a contender for the Rolex Player of the Year title.

Atwal followed up his quiet opening round of 72 with an error-free 66 on day two that featured an eagle and four birdies to gain eight places from his overnight tied 14th position. Arjun landed his approach shots within three feet for birdie on the 14th and eagle on 15th and sank two long birdie putts on the seventh and ninth.

Atwal said, “I landed it closer today and my putting was a little better as compared to round one. I’ll look at shooting a score of around six-under in round three in order to stay in contention. I’m very proud that our young golfers such as Rashid, Chikkarangappa and Shubhankar are playing so well.”

Rahil Gangjee, another local lad, lies joint eighth along with Delhi’s Chiragh Kumar at five-under-139.

PGTI Press release

Seeded boys hurry into pre-quarters; top-seeded girls get byes

Rajahmundry, December 26, 2014: Manav Thakkar led the top eight seeded brigade into the Sub-Junior Boys’ pre-quarterfinals of the 76th Cadet and Sub-Junior National Table Tennis Championships at the Cherukuri Convention Centre here today.

Top-seed Manav Thakkar easily beat qualifier Rohit Karam of Manipur for a clear 3-0 victory while No. 2 seed Manush Shah downed another qualifier Nitin Singh from Uttarakhand by the same margin. It was the same case with No. 4 Seth Sarthak of UP, who downed Mohsin Ahmed, No. 5 Snehit Suravajjula of Telangana, who won against Punjab’s Sarthak Thakur, and eighth seed Ashwin Subramanian of Maharashtra who posted also posted a 3-0 win over Shaurya Gupta of Chandigarh and No. 7 seed Shaurya Pednekar of Maharashtra scored a 3-0 triumph over Kabir Jain from MP.

However, the No. 6 seed from Delhi, Parth Virmani struggled a bit before overcoming Saroj Siril of Telangana. The Delhi boy won 11-9, 10-12, 12-10, 11-7. All the winners will play the pre-quarterfinals tonight and three rounds, from quarterfinals onwards, on the concluding day tomorrow.

But some of the matches between qualifiers had spectators riveted to their seats as the one between Gujarat’s Kaushal Bhatt and Maharashtra B’s Gaurav Lohaparte in which the former emerged winners with a 3-2 verdict. Kaushal struggled to find his feet in the first game after being stretched by his opponent only to lose his second game. Then Kaushal took the next only to concede the next before winning the fifth with the least margin in the top half.

Delhi’s Yashansh Malik had everything going for him in his match against Maharashtra B’s Tanmay Rane when he went 2-1 up. But in the fourth the momentum shifted with the Maharashtra boy who went on to win the fifth for 6-11, 11-6, 7-11, 11-8, 11-6.

Then Kerala boy Mohammad Inush put up a brave fight against Kashish Bhargava of Delhi to win the match 11-9, 4-11, 11-8, 3-11, 11-8. In this match too, the Kerala boy was 2-1 up but slackened a bit to allow the Delhi boy level the match 2-2. However, in the end Inush played brilliantly when it mattered the most to sew his berth in the pre-quarters where he will take on PSPBA’s Harsh Srivastava who had an easy outing against Goa’s Karthik Iyer.

Unlike in the Sub-Junior Boys section, the top eight seeds in Sub-Junior Girls got first round byes and will be seen in action from round two today. The main draw events in both the Cadet Boys and Cadet Girls sections have begun and they will play the pre-quarters tonight.

The Results:

Sub Junior Boys   (1st round):

Manav Thakkar (PSPB-A) bt Karam Rohit (MNP) 11-1, 11-4, 11-4, Sur Roy Siddhant (NB) bt Joshi Roshan (MP) 8-11, 12-10, 15-13, 11-7, Chhabra Angad Singh (DLI) bt Bhaavanaka Vathsin (TELG) 11-8, 11-4, 13-11, Kannan Shriram (TN) bt T. Saji Ajins (KRL) 11-7, 7-11, 11-7, 11-6, Regan Albuquerque 11-7, 7-11, 11-5, 11-2, Goel Shubh (DLI) bt Vijay Kumar Malesh (TN) 8-11, 11-3, 10-12, 11-9, 12-10, Parekh Siddhant (GOA) bt Ishaan Hingorani (GUJ) 11-8, 11-2, 11-7, Subramanian Ashwin (MHR-A) bt Shaurya Gupta (CHD) 11-6, 11-6, 11-2, Snehit Suravajjula (TELG) bt Sarthak Thakur (PUN) 11-8, 11-3, 11-6, Bhatt Kaushl (GUJ) bt Lohaparte Gaurav (MHR-B) 12-10, 6-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-9, Lamba Shivjit Singh (DLI) bt Gowthaman Sagar Piyus (TN) 11-9, 1-4, 11-9, Bhattacharjee Jayabrata (NB) bt P.Jayasurya (AP) 11-4, 11-8, 11-9, Zamliana John (PSPB-A) bt Raj Neeraj (KNT) 11-6, 11-8, 11-9, Gourang Shakreja (HRN) bt Mahipal Sankket (TN) 11-6, 11-9, 11-7

Seth Sarthak (UP) bt Ahmed Moshin (ASM) 11-8, 11-4, 11-6, Jain Anukram (PSPB-A) bt M.Eshwararao (ODS) 11-4, 11-8, 11-6, Gurumurthy Chithresh (TN) bt Nalhotra Hrisshsikesh (MHR-A) 6-11, 11-6, 11-7, 12-10, Jain Pyas (DLI) bt Srivastava Diyyansh (KNT) 11-6, 11-9, 4-11, 11-5

Jamadagni Rohan (KNT) bt Bodiwala Shivam (GUJ) 11-1, 8-11, 11-9, 11-5, DO Rosario Weslet (GOA) bt Dutta Manik (HRN) 11-5, 11-8, 7-11, 11-7, Somaiya Chinmaya Kapil (PSPB-A) bt Gangul Ayan (NB) 6-11, 11-6, 15-13, 12-10, Bokil Sanat (MHR-B) bt Jawahar Karan (TN) 11-5, 11-5, 11-6

Virmani Parth (DLI) bt Pala Parthi Saroj Siril (TELG) 11-9, 10-12, 12-10, 11-7, Pednekar Shaurya (MHR-A) bt Jain Akbar (MP) 11-6, 11-2, 11-5, Md. Inush (KRL) bt Bhargava Kashish (DLI) 11-9, 4-11, 11-8, 3-11, 11-8, Gupta Satyam Girf (UP) bt Dey Arjit (NB) 11-1, 11-4, 11-9, Srivastava Harsh (PSPB-A) bt Iyer Karthik (GOA) 11-8, 11-6, 11-7, Pandry Sameer (PSPB-A) bt Uday Kumar U.Gokul (TN) 5-11, 6-11, 11-5, 11-9, 11-3, Rane Tanmay (MHR-B) bt Malik Yashansh (DLI) 6-11, 11-6, 7-11, 11-8, 11-6, Srivastava Adarsh (UP) bt Ch.V.S. Sai Tejesh (TELG) 11-8, 11-8, 11-8, Shah Manush (GUJ) bt Gusain Nitin Singh (UKD) 11-4, 11-2, 11-6.

TTFI Press release

Shubhankar Sharma grabs round one lead with blistering eight-under-64

Shubhankar Sharma 

Kolkata, December 25, 2014: The Rs. 1.5 crore McLeod Russel Tour Championship, the year-ending event of the PGTI, got off to a cracking start at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC) on Thursday as teenager Shubhankar Sharma of the DLF Golf & Country Club, Gurgaon, posted a blistering eight-under-64 for the round one lead. Chikkarangappa of Bangalore ended the opening day of the richest-ever domestic event to be staged in India, in second place as he registered a score of 66.

Shubhankar Sharma, who at 17 years of age became the youngest winner on the PGTI at Kochi in April this year, was in sublime form on Thursday as he produced an incredible nine birdies against a lone bogey. The eighteen-year-old was off to a solid start with three birdies on the first five holes including a chip-in on the fifth. Shubhankar made the turn at five-under after two birdie conversions from 10 to 12 feet on the seventh and ninth.

Sharma’s only bogey of the day came as a result of a lip-out on the 10th but he came back stronger with four successive birdies from the 15th to the 18th. He sank a 20-footer on the 17th and landed it close to the flag on the 16th and 18th.   

“I couldn’t have asked for a better start to the week. I was striking it well and converting all opportunities on the greens. I’ve not been doing well in the opening rounds of late but today I managed to overcome that problem. But I know I can’t take anything for granted going into the next round as every day is a new day in golf,” said Shubhankar, currently ranked 11th in the Rolex Rankings.

He added, “I’ve got good memories of the RCGC as I won the All India Amateur Championship here in early 2013 just before turning professional. Those good memories could work for me this week.

“My success on the PGTI earlier this year and my consistent performances on the Asian Development Tour have helped me grow as a player. The fourth place finish in a strong international field at the Panasonic Open recently has also instilled a lot of self-belief in me.”

Chikkarangappa got a head-start in the race for the Rolex Player of the Year title after his opening round of six-under-66. Chikka, currently placed second in the Rolex Rankings, ended the day in second place, thus opening a huge gap between himself and Rolex Rankings leader Om Prakash Chouhan of Mhow who shot a one-over-73 to be tied 27th. There is a gap of just over Rs. 2 lakh between the two players at the moment. Chikkarangappa now has the edge in the race for the top spot as the winner at this week’s event is set to take home a prize purse of Rs. 23,77,500.

Chikka’s 66 featured an eagle, five birdies and a bogey. The 2014 Super Series champion almost holed out from 140 yards to set-up a tap-in birdie on the 11th. The 21-year-old also landed it within 10 feet from 220 yards for eagle on the 15th. He sank two 15-footers on the 14th and 18th.

Chikka said, “The rough is up this week so there is a premium on hitting the fairways. I missed just four fairways out of 16 today. I know I’m one of the top contenders for the Rolex Rankings title but I won’t let that dominate my thought process. I just want to play my best golf and enjoy myself on the course.”

Delhi’s Shamim Khan too enjoyed a good start to the tournament as he carded a bogey-free 67 to be placed third on day one. Shamim rolled in three birdie putts from a range of 15 to 25 feet.

Kapurthala lad and winner of six international titles Gaganjeet Bhullar mixed eight birdies with two bogeys and a double-bogey to close the day in tied fourth at four-under-68.

Kolkata’s Shankar Das, who is currently third in the Rolex Rankings, kept alive his hopes of topping the rankings as he too shot a 68 to join Bhullar and Bangalore’s M Dharma in tied fourth.

Delhi’s Chiragh Kumar occupied seventh place after returning a 69 while Kolkata’s Rahil Gangjee was a further stroke back in joint eighth.

Reigning Rolex Rankings champion Rashid Khan of Delhi was tied 14th after a round of 71.

The Kolkata duo of Arjun Atwal (72) and SSP Chowrasia (73), both of whom have enjoyed international success this year, were placed tied 22nd and tied 27th respectively.

PGTI Press release

Promising young striker Akashdeep Singh idolises Sardar Singh

New Delhi, December 25, 2014: From playing a vital role in putting India into the finals of the 17th Asian Games with a brilliant field goal to bagging the ‘Best Junior Player of the Tournament’ award in the recently concluded Hero Men’s Champions Trophy 2014, Akashdeep has them all to his name and promises a lot more in times to come for Indian hockey as well as the Hero Hockey India League which is just around the corner. Having given a commendable performance in the last edition of the Hero Hockey India League, Akashdeep even has to his credit of taking home the Ponty Chadha Upcoming Player of the Tournament award for the 2014 season. With being applauded for his performance post every tournament, Akashdeep will look at continuing his form in the upcoming League and standing upto his Captain – Sardar Singh.

Akin to several other upcoming players, the 20-year old striker looks up to the Indian Captain and midfielder Sardar Singh for inspiration and encouragement. Playing under the very able Sardar Singh in the Indian Men’s Hockey Team as well as in Delhi Waveriders, Akashdeep believes under Sardar Singh he has had priceless opportunities to display his game-play, observe and monitor the nuances, have his mistakes rectified and learn the fine distinctions of the game which has helped him grow as a player in the last one year. With such keenness to gain knowledge of the game and enthusiasm to play a high-quality hockey makes Akashdeep Singh one of the most promising young Indian players in coming years.

Speaking on his mentor and role-model Sardar Singh, Akashdeep Singh said, “It has been a great prospect to play under Sardar’s leadership and I am one of those lucky ones to not only play under his guidance in the Indian Men team but even in the Hero Hockey India League where we are with Delhi Waveriders. Watching him play as well as discussing the game with him has helped me to learn a few tricks of the trade and has enhanced my game immensely. He inspires me and many others to become the player we want to be and make a difference to the game when on the field. I am really looking forward to the League as we both personally are looking at a big challenge from the rest of the teams and the aim to retain the title this year too.”

On the impending Hero Hockey India League, he further added, “I have had amazing experiences at the last two seasons of the Hero Hockey India league as it is one of those rare golden chances where one gets to play along some of the finest hockey talents from world-over. One such player is Simon Child and playing alongside him in the forward position has been a big experience for me.”

Hockey India League Press release

Manav and Archana lead ranking charts

Rajahmundry, December 25, 2014: The Petroleum Sports Promotion Board Academy’s Manav Thakkar and Karnataka’s Archana Girish Kamath lead the ranking lists in Sub-Junior Boys’ and Girls’ sections, respectively, as the individual events got underway in the 76th Cadet and Sub-Junior National Table Tennis Championships at the Cherukuri Convention Centre here today.

Manav leads the chart with 360 points, having been the most accomplished player with four title wins in the National Ranking Championships during the season. Similarly, Archana has accumulated 240 points for her two title triumphs and one runner-up finish. The Karnataka girl had to skip one national ranking event as she was representing Asia in the World Cadet Challenge in Barbados. Yet, her point position was such that the second ranked player, Payal Bohra of Maharashtra was 60 points behind. The Maharashtra girl had just one title from the Central Zone event held at Indore.

Behind Manav in the ranking chart was Manush Shah of Gujarat followed by PSPB’s Anukram Jain, Sarthak Seth (UP), Ashwin Subramanian (Maharashtra B), Parth Virmani (Delhi), Shaurya Pednekar (Mahrashtra B) and Snehit Suravajjulu (Telangana).

In Sub-Junior Girls, Shrushti Haleangadi (Maharashtra), Selenadeepthi Selvakumar (TN), Yashini Sivashankar (TN), Kushi Viswanath (Karnataka), Priyanka Pareek (Rajasthan and Surbhi Patwari (West Bengal) are behind both leader Archana and Payal to complete the top-eight ranked players.

With 56 and 52 groups in Sub-Junior Boys and Sub-Junior Girls, all these top eight ranked players will be getting their first round byes when the second stage matches begin tomorrow after the completion of qualification matches tonight.

Both the Cadet Boys and Cadet Girls categories have 44 groups each and, like in the sub-junior sections, only one player from each group will make it to the main draw.

Meanwhile, the doubles, which will be knockout events, will be playedtomorrow in both sub-junior sections.

Ranking points:

Sub-Junior Boys: Manav Thakkar (360), Manush Shah (150), Anukram Jain (135), Sarthak Seth (130), Ashwin Subramanian (120), Parth Virmani (105), Shaurya Pedneker (90), and Snehit Suravajjula (85).

Sub-Junior Girls: Archana Kamath (240), Payal Bohra (180), Srushti Haleangadi (180), Selenadeepthi Selvakumar (135), Yanishi Sivashankar (135), Kushi Viswanath (120), Priyanka Pareek (120) and Surbhi Patwari (120). 

A TTFI Press release   

Maiden crown for Karnataka girls; PSPBA boys retain title

Rajahmundry, December 24, 2014: The Petroleum Sports Promotion Board Academy (PSPBA) boys, as expected, retained their title in the sub-junior section beating Telangana 3-1 in the final of the 76th Cadet and Sub-Junior National Table Tennis Championships at the Cherukuri Convention Centre here today.

But it was Karnataka girls who won several hearts and maiden crown in the sub-junior category in what was a fine come-from-behind 3-2 triumph against Tamil Nadu. Maharashtra A earned the Cadet Girls, beating a determined Delhi 3-1 in the final, but their Cadet Boys could not replicate it against PSPB Academy as the latter emerged 3-0 victorious.

Manav Thakkar was, understandably, the star of the evening in PSPBA’s title triumph as he shaped the team’s fortunate by winning both his singles and also the doubles in the company of Raegan Albuquerque. But PSPBA lost their opening singles when SnehitSuravajjula easily defeated Raegan. But Manav came in the way of Telangana to deny them what would have been a historic occasion for a team that was making its maiden appearance. Nevertheless, Telangana can take heart from the fact that making it to the final itself was a great achievement.   

Karnataka’s fortune turned around when both Archana Kamath and Kushi Viswanath combined well in the doubles to bring some respite to their camp. Normally a very dependent Tamil Nadu pair of Selenadeepthi and Yashini, were taken to cleaners as the Karnataka duo won 3-1.

From there, it was Karnataka all the way as Archana beat 11-7, 11-4, 11-13, 11-7. The fast-paced match saw several rallies and good strokes being played with Archana taking sweet revenge for her first singles loss to Yashini.

With the team score level at 2-2, the onus was on Kushi to bring out her best against Yashini, who is a higher ranked player. But Kushi, shedding all inhibitions, went on the attacking mode right from the word go and it paid her rich dividends and eventually the team. Attacking on both flanks and playing close to the table, Kushi forced Yanishi on the backfoot and went 2-0 up.

But in the next game, Yashini came back very well and when it looked as if she would take the rubber to the decider, Kushi played some brilliant backhand shots successfully indulging in long rallies. What gave her and team the power was Kushi managed to keep the ball in play and on the table when it was needed to force her opponent commit the mistakes. Though she won the fifth game by a minimum margin of 11-9, she deserved all the limelight despite being in some discomfort during the final. 

Win one, lose one

The Cadet Girls final too had all the thrills and it was heartening to see both the Maharashtra A and Delhi girls putting up a great show. Delhi made a bright beginning with Vanshika Bhargava winning her singles but Maharashtra’s No. 1 player Swastka Ghosh pulled back with a convincing win over Laksita Narang. Then she joined hands with Diya Chitale to win the doubles to up her teak 2-1 up before coming back to the table for the last time to win the reverse singles and seal the fate of Delhi.

The Cadet Boys final was along the expected line as PSPB Academy annexed the title beating Maharashtra A 3-0. PSPBA were too good but credit should go to Maharashtra for making it to the two finals in the Cadet sections.

In the semifinals earlier, Raegan Albuquerque played a wonderful waiting game to launch himself into a memorable win that brought back PSPBA from out of nowhere. Shivjit Singh Lamba was having an upper hand having taken a 2-0 lead in the decider. But a cool Raegan held his nerve and not only did he level but played brilliantly to put his side in the final and shut the voice of vociferous Delhi. But Lamba did all that he could, only in the first two games.

Results (Team Events):

Sub Junior Boys: (Final): PSPBA bt Telangana 3-1 (Raegan Albuqueerque lost to Snehit Suravajjula 7-11, 11-13, 6-11, Manav Thakkar bt Saroji Siril 11-9, 11-8, 11-2, Manav& Raegan bt Snejit& Siril 11-7, 9-11, 1214, 11-7, 11-3, ManavThakkar bt Snehit Suravajjula 11-3, 11-5, 11-4); Semifinals: PSPBA bt Delhi  3-2 (Albuquetque Raegan Albuquerque lost to Virmani Parth 11-5, 8-11, 9-11, 7-11, Thakkar Manav bt Lamba Shivjit Singh 11-6, 11-3, 9-11, 11-4, Albuquetque Raegan Albuquerque & Thakkar Manav bt Virmani Parth & Lamba Shivjit Singh 9-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-8, Thakkar Manav lost to  Virmani Parth 11-3, 9-11, 9-11, 3-11,  Albuquetque Raegan Albuquerque bt Lamba Shivjit Singh 11-13, 6-11, 12-10, 14-12, 11-8);  Telangana  bt Goa  3-0 (Pala Parthi Saroj Siril bt Parekh Siddhant 11-9, 11-3, 11-3, Fidel Rafeeque Snehit Suravajjula bt DO Rosario Wesley 11-3, 11-6, 9-1, 12-10, Saroj Siril & Fidel Rafeeque Snehit bt Wesley & Parekh Siddhant 11-7, 11-8, 15-13).

Sub Junior Girls:  (Final): Karnataka bt Tamil Nadu 3-2 (Archana Kamath lost to Yashini Sivshankar 6-11, 11-6, 6-11, 4-11, Kishi Viswanath lost to Selenadeepthi Selvakumar 6-11, 11-9, 11-5, 8-11, 9-11, Achana&Kushi bt Se;lenadeepthi&Yashini 11-4, 11-9, 5-11, 11-7, Archana Kamath bt Selenadeepthi Selvakumar 11-7, 11-4, 11-13, 11-7, Kushi Viswanath bt Yashini Sivashankar 11-8, 11-6, 6-11, 11-9); Semifinals: Tamil Nadu bt Telanagana 3-0 (Sivashnkar Yashini bt Garlapati Pranitha 7-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-5, Selenadeepthi Selvakumar bt Jaiswal Varuni 8-11, 11-2, 11-6, 12-10, Salenadeepthi Selvakumar & Sivashankar Yashini bt Garlapati Pranitha & Jaiswal Varuni 11-9, 11-3, 9-11, 11-7); Karnataka bt Maharashtra A 3-0 (Kushi Viswanath bt Bohra Payal 11-5, 12-10,7-11, 11-8, Archana Kamat bt Sruthi 11-7, 11-6, 11-7, Archana & Kushi bt Sruthi & Manushree 11-6, 10-12, 11-7, 11-4).

Cadet Boys: Final: PSPBA bt Maharashtra A 3-0 (Alberto Lrruata bt Dev Shroff 8-11, 3-11, 11-5, 11-7, 12-10, Jeho H bt Deepit Patil 11-5, 11-7, 11-3, Alberto & Jeho bt Deepit & Ritwik 11-2, 11-9, 11-2); Semifinals: PSPB-A  bt  Telangana 3-1 (Lrruata Alberto lost to  Balasuri Varun Shanker  11-9, 11-13, 4-11, 6-11, Himnakulhpuingheta Jeho bt  A.Advait 6-11, 11-9, 11-6, 4-11, 11-1, Alberto & Jeho bt Varun Shanker & A.Advait 11-8, 11-13, 13-11, 11-9, Himnakulhpuingheta Jeho lost to Balusuri Varun Shankar  6-11, 6-11, 7-11, Lrruata Alberto bt A.Advait 11-7, 9-11, 11-4, 11-9); Maharashtra-A  bt Tamil Nadu 3-0 (Shroff Dev bt Deenadayalan Vishwa 8-11, 11-7, 11-6, 13-11, Patil Deepit bt Ganesh Varun 11-8, 11-511-8, Patil Deepit & Nagil Ritvik bt Deendayalan & Ganesh Varun 6-11, 11-3, 11-6, 12-10).

Cadet Girls: Final: Maharashtra A bt Delhi 3-1 (Diya Citale lost to Vanshika Bhargava 11-2, 7-11, 9-11, 11-8, 7-11, Swastika Ghosh bt Laksita Narang 11-2, 2-11, 11-5, 13-11, Diya&Swastika bt Tisha Kohli/Vanshika 11-9, 11-9, 8-11, 13-11, Swastika Ghosh bt Vanshika Bhargava 11-7, 11-3, 8-11, 11-7); Semifinals: Maharashtra-A  bt Tamil Nadu 3-0 (Chitale Diya bt Srinivasan Sharmitha 11-7, 11-8, 11-2, Ghosh Swastika bt Baskar Kavyasree 11-4, 11-5, 11-9, Ghosh Swastika & Chitale Divya bt Srinivasan Sharmitha & Baskar Kavyasree,11-5,11-7,11-3); Delhi  bt Karnataka 3-0 (Narang Laksita bt Joshi Aditi 12-10, 11-6, 11-8, Bhargava Vanshika bt Manjuna Anargya 11-5, 14-16, 11-4, 11-4, Bhargava Vanshika & Tisha Kohli bt Joshi Aditi & Manjuna Anargya 11-9, 7-11, 11-8, 13-11).

A TTFI Press release

Maharashtra A, UP scrape past MP and Goa; Assam suspended

Rajahmundry, December 23, 2014: Maharashtra A and Uttar Pradesh had to bring out their best to outwit their rivals Madhya Pradesh and Goa and enter the sub-junior girls quarterfinals of the 76th Cadet and Sub-Junior National Table Tennis Championships at the Cherukuri Convention Centre here today.

UP downed MP 3-2 in the top half and Maharashtra A overcame Goa by the same margin in the bottom. The other quarterfinal winners included Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Telangana, Delhi, Karnataka and West Bengal.

The quarterfinal matches in all sections will be played later tonight with the semifinals and finals slated for tomorrow.

Madhya Pradesh played as well as they could have done but in the end it was UP that emerged the winners, thanks to Anusha Kutumbale who had to share the major burden. Not only did she win both her singles, first against MP’s Suhana Narjinary 3-2, but also against Saundarya Pathak (3-1). She and her partner Khushi Jain, however, lost their doubles, which pushed the match down to the wire. Suhana beat Khushi 11-8, 11-4, 9-11, 11-9 in the crucial decider that clinched it in favaour of UP.

As for Maharashtra A, they were down 1-2 after they lost the doubles and it was left to Srushti Haleangadi and Payal Bohra to put their best foot forward to get them back into shape. After Shrusti won the first singles against Urmila Mense 3-0, Tansi Kirtani restored parity by winning her singles against Payal Bohra 7-11, 11-4, 11-6, 11-7. Then she combined with Urmila to take the doubles against the Maharashtra pair to go 2-1 up. But Shrushti beat Tanisi in straight games and Payal downed Urmila in her reverse singles to cross the line.

But for these two matches, the other pre-quarterfinals were more or less one-sided with the fancied teams making the grade.

Assam suspended

In Cadet Girls, Assam was scratched despite the team entering the quarterfinals by upsetting Maharashtra B 3-1 in the pre-quarterfinals. Trisha Gogoi, who did the star turn for Assam, won both her singles and then combed with Abrita Bhuyan to clinch the doubles. For Maharashtra A, only Kheya Shah was able to win her singles against Abrita 7-11, 11-6, 11-7, 14-12. But Trisha, having submitted two date of birth certificates—in both cases she was an eligible candidate to play in the Cadet section—the team was punished by the competition manager Ganeshan Neelakanta Iyer.

“This girl had registered with the TTFI with two birth certificates. As a policy decision and as per our guidelines, she has to be instantly penalized. That’s what we have done in this case,” said Ganeshan.

“Because this tantamount to cheating, we have scratched the Assam team. So Maharashtra B will go through to the quarterfinals instead,” he added.  

Meanwhile, the other teams that went through were Gujarat, Delhi, Maharashtra A, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

Of all the pre-quarterfinals in Cadet Boys’ section, the one between Telangana and North Bengal went the full distance with the former winning the match 3-2, thanks to A. Advait’s fine performance in the decider. The match was hanging in balance after the fourth rubber which Telangana won when Varun Shankar blanked out Jayabrata Bhattacharjee 3-0. This win must have given confidence to Advait as he overcame a 1-2 deficit to win 11-8, 9-11, 6-11, 11-7, 11-8 to take his take into the quarterfinals.

The other winners to join Telangana in fray were UP, Kerala, PSPBA, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra A and Delhi.

There were no surprises in the sub-junior boys’ category as PSPBA, Maharashtra A, Delhi, Gujarat, UP, Goa, Telangana and Tamil Nadu posted easy wins over their rivals to enter the quarterfinals.  

A TTFI release

PSPBA boys, TN girls have it easy in sub-junior sections

Rajahmundry, December 22, 2014: The Petroleum Sports Promotion Board Academy (PSPBA) boys were very much on course to their title march in the sub-junior section, winning both their group A matches against Maharashtra B and Pondicherry rather easily in the 76th Cadet and Sub-Junior National Table Tennis Championships at the Cherukuri Convention Centre here today.

Led by Manav Thakkar, the team surged against Maharashtra posting a 3-1 win and followed it up with a 3-0 thumping against Pondicherry. They have a match against Manipur tomorrow but it will be a mere formality when they take on the northeastern state.

With two teams making it to the second stage, which is the main draw, the next team in line for the position seems to be Maharashtra B. Though they lost to to PSPBA, they posted an easy 3-0 victory over Manipur and are slated to take on Pondicherry tomorrow.

Similarly, other group leaders were more or less identified in the sub-junior boys section with the except of West Bengal, the leader of group B, as Uttar Pradesh, North Bengal, Gujarat won two matches each while hosts Andhra Pradesh—they are group E leader—lost both their matches to Karnataka and Punjab. West Bengal boys lost their match to Maharashtra A but beat Meghalaya 3-0, Uttar Pradesh, on the other hand, won both their matches against Haryana and Madhya Pradesh with a 3-1 and 3-0 verdicts. Both Haryana and Madhya Pradesh have posted a win each but the match between them will decide who among them will make grade as the second team. Kerala have lost both their matches to Delhi and Uttarakhand which would mean that Delhi, with two wins, are bound to qualify while the second team could be Uttarakhand from group G.

Host Andhra started on a wrong foot losing to Karnataka boys. But it must be said to the credit of the hosts that their boys put up a brave showing taking the match to the decider. On the other hand, West Bengal surrendered meekly to both Maharashtra A.

In sub-junior girls, Tamil Nadu from group A are sitting pretty with two victories over Goa and Uttarakhand in the three-team group. Maharashta B from group C, North Bengal from group E, Delhi from group F and Karnataka from group H have two wins and are sure to make the grade.

But in Cadet sections only one round having been completed and two more rounds are reaming to present a clear picture who all qualify for the second stage.

Sub Junior Boys Team Championships 1st Round

Group-A

PSPB –A  bt Pondicherry (3-0)

Thakkar Manav bt K.Ashwin Coumar (3-0) 11-5, 11-2, 11-5

Jain Anukram bt V.Annamalai (3-0) 11-4, 11-3, 11-6

Raesgan & Sameer bt K.Ashwin Coumar & V.Annamalai (3-0) 11-7, 11-6, 11-8

Maharashtra-B bt Manipur (3-0)

Bokil Sanat bt Karam Rohit (3-0) 11-4, 11-8, 11-5

Rane Tannmay bt Konthoujam Kenao (3-0) 11-5, 11-7, 12-10

Bokil Sanat & Khinrasava bt Karam Rohit & Konthoujam Kenao (3-0) 11-7, 11-9, 11-3

Group-B

Maharashtra-A bt Mizoram (3-0)

Subramanian Ashwin bt Master Khamlianthanga (3-0) 11-6, 11-3, 11-4

Pednekar Shaurya bt C.Lalmuanawma (3-0) 11-3, 11-3, 11-5

Subramanian Ashwin & Pednekar Shaurya bt Master Khamlianthanga & C.Laimuanawma (3-0)12-10,11-3.11-8

West Bengal bt Meghalaya (3-0)

Halder Sourajit bt Ch.Marak Chesan (3-0) 11-5, 11-5, 11-4

DEY Riswav bt Dey Suranjit (3-1) 11-7, 10-12, 11-4, 11-5

Halder Sourajit & Ghosh Rudra Narayan bt Dey Suranjit & Ch.Marak Chesan (3-0) 11-8, 11-9, 11-6

 Group-C

Haryana bt Chattisgarh (3-0)

CHAND Anushul bt Ganguly Parag(3-0) 11-9, 11-3, 11-9

GOURANG Shakreja bt Pillay Anuj (3-0) 11-6, 11-4, 11-4

Sachdeva Rishabh & GOURANG Shakreja bt Ganguly Parag & Pillay Anuj (3-1) 7-11, 11-6, 11-9,18-16

Uttar Pradesh bt Madhya Pradesh (3-0)

Set Sarthak bt Joshi Roshan (3-0) 11-4, 11-5, 11-9

Pallival Hardik b Choukse Tanmay (3-2) 13-15, 11-9, 11-8, 10-12, 11-3

Seth Sarthak & Paliwal Hardik bt Joshi Roshan & Jain Kabir (3-0) 11-5, 11-8, 11-5

Group-D

North Bengal  bt Chandigarh(3-0)

Bhattacharjee Jayabrata bt Sharma Sahil (3-2) 7-11, 11-9, 14-12, 7-11, 11-4

Sur Roy Sidddhant bt Shaurya Gupta (3-0) 11-7, 11-9, 11-3

Bhattacharjee Jayabrata & Sur Roy Siddhant (3-0) 13-11, 13-11, 11-9

Group-E

Karnataka bt Bihar (3-0)

Jamadagni Rohan S bt Mathuri Yogesh (3-2) 10-12, 11-6, 11-5, 10-12, 13-11

RAJ Neeraj bt Shivam Master (3-0) 11-6, 11-7, 11-4

Jamadagni Rohan S and RAJ Neeraj bt Shivam Master & Bhadouriya Harsh Raj (3-0) 11-8, 11-4, 11-3

Punjab bt Andhra Pradesh (3-1)

Saini Nikhil bt P.Jayasurya (3-2) 11-13, 11-6, 12-10, 5-11, 11-9

Sarthak Thakur lost to R.Saiswaroop (0-3)8-11, 6-11, 7-11

Sarthak Thakur & Saini Nikhil bt P.Jayasurya & R.Sai Swaroop (3-1) 6-11, 13-11, 11-5, 13-11

Kumar Nikhil bt R.Sai Swaroop (3-2) 9-11, 11-9, 13-15, 11-5, 11-6

Group-F

Tamil Nadu bt Odisha (3-2)

Gurumurthy Chithresh bt Prusty Krishan (3-0) 11-9, 11-9, 11-5, 13-11

Gouthaman Sagar Piyush lost to M.Eshwar Rao (2-3) 9-11, 9-11, 11-5, 11-9, 9-11

Gurumurthy Chithresh & Jawahar Karan bt Prusty Krishan & M. Eswar Rao (3-0) 11-8, 11-3, 11-9

Gurumurthy Chithresh lost to M.Eswar rao (1-3) 8-11, 7-11, 11-3, 8-11

Gowthaman Sagar Piyush bt Prusty Krishan (3-2) 11-13, 8-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-8

Group-G

Delhi bt Himachal Pradesh (3-0)

Goel Shubh bt Sharma Mehul (3-0) 11-6, 11-4, 11-7

Virmani Parth bt DEV Prabha (3-0) 11-4, 11-6, 11-7

Lamba Shivjit Singh  & Virmani Parth bt Sharma Mehul & RANA Gagandeep (3-0) 11-5, 11-4, 11-9

Uttarkhand bt Kerala (3-2)

Gusain Nitin Singh bt T.Saji Ajins (3-2) 5-11, 11-3, 6-11, 12-10, 11-5

Pandey Tushar lost to Md Inush (2-3) 14-12, 7-11, 12-10, 4-11, 5-11

Gusan Nitin Sinth & Pandey Tushar bt  T.Saji Ajins & Jacob Aswa (3-2) 11-8, 11-13, 8-11, 11-5, 11-7

Gusain Nitin Singh lost to Md Inush (1-3) 7-11, 1-11, 11-6, 11-13

Pandey Tushar bt T.Saji Ajins (3-2) 8-11, 13-11, 11-9, 11-8

Group-H

Gujarat bt Jharkhand 3-1

Shah Manush bt Narang Hardik (3-0) 11-7, 11-6, 11-3

 Bhatt Kaushal bt Singh Tarun Deep (3-0) 11-4, 11-3, 11-3

Shah Manush & Bhatt Kaushal bt Narang Hardik & Singh Tarun Deep (3-1) 11-4. 9-11, 11-5, 11-8

Telangana bt Assam (3-0)

Pala Parthi Sarojsiril bt Gohain Agniv Bhaskar (3-1) 11-2, 11-4, 4-11, 11-7

Fidel Refeeque Snehit Suravajjula bt Ahmed Mohsin (3-1) 11-3, 10-12, 11-8, 12-10

Tejesh & M.Ali bt Gohain Agniv Bhaskar & Ahmed Mohsin (3-0) 11-5, 14-12, 11-7

Sub Junior Girls Team Championships 1st Round

Group-A

West Bengal bt Andhra Pradesh (3-1)

Patwri Surbhi bt Erusu Anushareddy (3-1) 11-3, 11-9, 9-11, 11-4

Sen Prapti lost to B.Nagasravani (1-3) 5-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-13

Patwari Surbhi & Sen Prapti bt Erusu Anusha Reddy & B.Nagasravani (3-1) 11-7, 11-1, 5-11, 11-5

Patwari Surbhi bt B.Nagasravani (3-2) 9-11, 11-3, 11-9, 10-12, 11-8

Tamilnadu bt Uttarakhand (3-0)

Sivashankar Yashini bt Rawat Tina (3-0) 11-6, 11-3, 11-6

Selenadeepthi Selvakumar bt Saxena Vanishika (3-0) 11-6, 11-6, 11-6

Deepika & Kowshika bt Rawat Tina & Saxena Vanshika (3-1) 11-7, 13-11, 5-11, 11-9

Group-C

Maharashtra-A bt Chattisgarh (3-0)

Srushti Haleangadi bt Roy Khushi (3-0) 11-5, 11-1, 11-4

Bohra Payal bt Devrajan Varshii (3-0) 11-7, 11-2, 11-2

Sruthi Haleangadi & Manushree Sunil Patil bt Roy Khushi & Devrajan Varshini (3-0) 11-4, 11-1, 11-4

Group-D

Assambt Jharkhand(3-0)

Baruah Prayshee bt Rai Awantika (3-0) 11-3, 11-0, 11-4

Gogoi Trisha bt Rai Hansika (3-0) 11-4, 11-3, 13-12

Gogoi Trisha & Phukan Parizat bt Rai Awantika & Gupta Ishika (3-0) 11-9, 11-4, 11-5

Uttar Pradeshs bt Pondicherry (3-0)

Pathak Saundarya bt R.Tehya Tanushri (3-0) 11-3, 11-5, 11-6

Narjinar y Suhana bt Amala Pankaj (3-1) 14-12, 11-7, 8-11, 11-8

Pathak Saundarya & Narijiinary Suhana bt R Tehya Tanushri & Amala Pankaj (3-0) 13-11, 11-7, 11-5

Group-E

North Bengal bt Himachal Pradesh (3-0)

Sarkar Nikita bt Chaudhry Surbhi (3-0) 11-5, 11-8, 11-9

Kundu Rittika bt Bhandari Ishav  (3-0) 11-3, 11-6, 11-5

Kundu Rittika & Sarkar Nikita bt Chaudhry Surbhi & Sharma Shivakshi (3-0) 11-7, 11-5, 11-2

Telangana bt Haryana (3-0)

Varuni Jaiswal bt Paul Trisha (3-0) 11-5, 11-4, 11-8

Garlapati Pranitha bt Saini Suhana (3-0) 11-6, 11-8, 11-8

Varuni Jaiswal & Garlapati Pranitha  bt ManchandaNamya & Saini Suhana (3-0) 11-8, 11-4, 12-10

Group-F

Delhi bt Punjab (3-1)

Sachar Vanshika lost to Sharma Yashi (2-3) 11-13, 11-7, 8-11, 18-16, 8-11

Gupta Ishita bt Kashish Sahni (3-0) 11-2, 11-6, 11-7

Gupta Ishita & Ridhi Sethi bt Sharma Yashi & Kashish sahni (3-2) 11-8, 9-11, 11-6, 5-11, 11-7

Gupta Ishita bt Sharma Yashi (3-1) 11-4, 8-11, 13-11, 11-7

Group-G

Kerala bt Bihar (3-0)

Treesha Cherian bt Bhawna Riya (3-0) 11-4, 11-4, 11-3

Baiju Riya bt Gupta Riyanshi (3-2) 9-11, 11-5, 11-5, 14-16, 11-9

Treesa Cherian & Baiju Riya bt Verma Tripi & Bhawna Riya (3-0) 11-9, 11-4, 11-5

Group-H

Karnataka bt Madha Pradesh (3-2)

Viswanath Kushi lost to Kutumbale Anusha (2-3) 11-7, 11-7, 13-15, 5-11, 9-11

Kamath Archana bt Jain Khushi (3-0) 11-6, 11-4, 11-4

Viswanath Kushi & Kamath Archana lost to Kutumbale Anusha & Jain Khushi (2-3) 11-5, 9-11, 12-10, 6-11, 9-11

Kamath Archana bt Kutumbale Anusha (3-0) 11-9, 1-3, 11-3

Viswanath Kushi bt Jain Khushi (3-0) 14-12, 11-3, 11-8

 Meghalaya bt Odisha (3-1)

Aparajita Suryasmita  lost to Sangmma Netra Dechinga  (1-3)9-11, 5-11, 15-13, 5-11

Basak Anannya bt Choudhury Anwesha (3-0) 11-4, 11-5, 11-5

Basak Anannya & Aparajita Suryasmita bt Sangmma Netra Dechiga & Ch Marak Cheangchi (3-0) 11-6, 11-8, 12-14

Basak Anannya bt Sangmma Netra Dechiga (3-1) 11-8, 9-11, 11-4, 11-6

A TTFI release

Fancied players move into pre-quarterfinals

Alappuzha, November 29, 2014: Petroleum Sports Promotion Board’s Abhishek Yadav and the top-seed showed a clear intention of his game plan and form in the Youth Boys singles when he moved into the pre-quarterfinals of the 76th Junior National and Youth Table Tennis Championships at the Radha Convention Centre here today.

Yadav, who was a semifinalist in the last edition at Guwahati, lost to the eventual winner G. Sathiyan, who is not competing here.  

The southpaw defeated Gujarat’s qualifier Hash Sachanandani 3-1 (6-11, 11-3, 11-6, 11-8) while No 2 Sudhanshu Grover, also of the PSPB beat Abhilash Bora of Assam 3-1 (12-10, 11-7, 7-11, 11-6) even as other top eight players joined them in the last-16 stages. But it was a bit of struggle for Sanish Ambekar, who was a star in Maharashtra’s Youth Boys team title, as Karantaka’s Akshay Mahanta stretched him the full distance.

In the end, Ambekar won 10-12, 11-8, 11-8, 9-11, 11-7 to move a state up. But Ravindra Kotiyan had no such problem, beating Tamil Nadu’s Divakar Kishore 13-11, 11-8, 11-4 as did Delhi’s Utkarsh Gupta who downed Gujarat’s Soham Pandya 11-3, 11-5, 11-6.

In the Youth Girls section, seeded and known players had it easy as PSPB’s Manika Batra, Reeth Rishya, Senhora D’Souza and Archana Kamath, AAI’s Amrita Pushpak, Gujarat’s Fremaz Chipia, West Bengal’s Rupsa Bhattacharya and Trisha Das, Maharashtra’s Mallika Bhandarkar, Charvi Kawle, Shireen Inamdar, Rutuja Khopkar and Srushti Halengadi, Telangana’s Varuni Jaiswal, Tamil Nadu’s Abhinaya Ramesh, Kerala’s Mariya Rony moved into the pre-quarterfinals.

Except for a few matches, where the winners were stretched at the adjacent hall, the rest eased past their challengers without any trouble. Gujarat’s Frenaz had to fight it out against Tamil Nadu’s S. Sathiyamoorthy.3-2. After losing the first game to the Tamil Nadu girl, Frenaz really fought well to win the second at 15-13 and took the lead in the next. However, the Gujarat girl lost the fourth only to regroup herself in the next for a 5-11, 15-13, 11-8, 6-11, 11-5 win.

Similarly, Maharashtra B’s Shiren struggled before overcoming her Gujarat opponent Dwijal Trivedi 9-11, 11-7, 11-9, 5-11, 11-6 and Delhi’s Riti Shankar, who is in the top 10, lost to Telangana’s Varuni Jaiswal 6-11, 12-14, 11-6, 11-3, 9-11. Riti did well to come back into the match after she was 0-2 down. But in the decider missed a crucial to allow Varuni go up and finish the match.

As for Kerala’s Maria Rony, it was easy against Delhi’s Aanchal Malhotra despite the latter taking a game off her Kerala rival. Maria won 7-11, 11-6, 12-10, 11-5 for a pre-quarterfinal berth. Maharashtra’s Shrushti Halengadi resisted a determined Poulomi Das of AAI to win 11-9, 10-12, 9-11, 11-8, 11-5.  

In Junior Boys, Delhi’s Himanshu Jindal put it across West Begal’s Abhimanyu Mitra after being down by two games. The Delhi boy won 4-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-1. Yet another match that went down to the wire was between Shivam Shrivastava and Suresh Nikhil of Tamil Nadu in which the later won 9-11, 11-6, 5-11, 11-9, 11-6 to enter the pre-quarterfinals. But the other matches were almost a one-sided affair with the fancied players going through to the next stage.

TTFI Press release

Maharashtra boys and PSPB girls win Youth titles

Alappuzha, November 28, 2014: If Team Maharashtra had been on a roll, it was a downswing of sorts for the Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) at the 76th Junior National and Youth Table Tennis Championships at the Radha Convention Centre here today.

Maharashtra, who claimed the Junior Boys title after 25 years, made the Youth Boys crown their own, humiliating Delhi 3-0 in the final even as the PSPB Youth Girls just about managed to wrest the title—title holders West Bengal were ousted earlier—from a determined Maharashtra A team. PSPB won 3-2 in a battle that lasted nearly two hours.   

After having busted the big bubble of PSPB in the semifinals yesterday, the two-man in-form army of Sanish Ambekar and Ravindra Kotiyan made Delhi sweat on a humid day for every point. But in the end, it was Maharashtra who emerged the champions after seven years. They had lost won at Surat when he beat Tamil Nadu in the final.

In fact, unseating PSPB was a difficult task and having accomplished it, Delhi was an easy prey to get killed. Sanish gave a fine start, Ravindra consolidated with yet another fine show only for Siddesh Pande, the promising youngster, to finish off in style. Delhi, however hard they tried, they could never match up with Maharashtra’s intensity.

As for the Youth Girls, it was a 50-50 case when the final started. Though Manika Batra gave PSPB a winning start, beating Mallika 7-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-7, Reeth Rishya struggled against Charvi Kawle. The latter, showing good intent and running into a nice rhythm, did not allow any liberty to her PSPB rival. However, what gave a semblance of change to PSPB was the new-girl-on-the-block Archana Kamath Girish.

The latest entrant to the PSPB, the girl from Karnataka put it across Maharashtra’s weak link Ashlesha Trehan in straight games. But Charvi brought Maharashtra back on track with a wonderful match against Manika. Charvi, mixing cleverly her strokes, kept Manika engaged keeping the ball on the table. Manka, making far too many mistakes, wilted under pressure. But, in the end, it was left to Reeth who made up for the first singles loss by beating a visibly tired Mallika.

Yesterday, local girl Maria Rony missed a great opportunity of winning the Junior Girls singles crown, losing to Shruti Amrute of Maharashtra. Maria, who was also entered in the Youth Girls team events by Kerala, could not bear the burden of having to play too many matches and lost despite winning the first game in the final. But it must be said to the credit of Shruti who was in a zone of her own.

Results:

Youth Boys: Team Final: Maharashtra bt Delhi 3-0 (Sanish Ambekar bt Himashu Jindal 11-7, 11-6, 7-11, 11-8, Ravindra Kotiyan bt Shivam Shrivastava 2-11, 11-9, 11-6, 9-11, 11-5, Siddhesh Pande bt Peeyush Prasad 13-11, 11-9, 11-5); Semifinals: Maharashtra A bt PSPBA 3-2 (Sanish Ambekar bt Birdie Boro 12-10, 11-6, 11-4, 11-8, Ravindra Kotiyan lost to Lalrin Puia 8-11, 11-6, 5-11, 14-12, 10-12, Sanish/Ravindra bt Manav Thakkar/Birdie Boro 7-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-9, 12-10, Sanish Ambekar lost to Lalrin Puia 8-11, 8-11, 8-11, Ravindra Kotiyan bt Bidie Boro 11-9, 13-11, 11-8); Delhi bt West Bengal 3-1 (Utkarsh Gupta bt Hirakjyoti Pusilal 11-7, 12-10, 7-11, 11-3, Himanshu Jindal bt Abhimanyu Mitra 9-11, 12-10, 8-11, 11-9, 11-4, Utkarsh/Himashu lost to Hirakjyoti/Abhimanyu 10-12, 5-11, 11-13, Utkarsh Gutpa bt Abhimanyu Mitra 11-4, 11-4, 6-11, 11-5).

Youth Girls: Team Final: PSPB bt Maharashtra A 3-2 (Manika Batra bt Mallika Bhandarkar 7-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-7, Reeth Rishya lost to Charvi Kawle 11-6, 8-11, 4-11, 4-11, Archana Kamath bt Ashlesha Trehan 11-7, 11-6, 11-4, Manika Batra lost to Charvi Kawle 8-11, 11-13, 11-2, 8-11, Reeth Rishya bt Mallika Bhandarkar 14-12, 11-6, 11-4); Semifinals: Maharashtra A bt Telangana 3-2 (Charvi Kawle bt Mounika Manohar 13-15, 13-11, 11-6, 11-4, Mallika Bhanarkar bt Naina 13-15, 11-3, 11-8, 12-10, Ashlesha Trehan lost to Varuni Jaiswal 9-11, 10-12, 9-11, Charvi Kawle bt Naina 11-9, 11-9, 3-11, 11-13, 11-5, PSPB bt Kerala 3-1 (Reeth Rishya lost to Maria Rony 9-11, 13-11, 12-10, 9-11, 9-11, Manika Batra bt Gia Anna George 11-2, 10-12, 11-8, 11-5, Senhora D’Souza bt Jasmine Sunny 11-6, 11-5, 13-11).

Junior Girls: Singles Final: ShrutiAmrute (MHA) bt Maria Rony (KER) 3-1 (7-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-4, 11-5); Semifinals: Maria Rony bt Riti Shankar (DEL) 4-0 (11-4, 11-7, 11-6, 11-7), Shruti Amrute bt Sreeja Akula 4-1 (11-6, 9-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-6).

A TTFI Press release