Delhi girls drawn to meet Kerala in pre-quarterfinals

 Mouma Das of West Bengal in action at Patliputra Sports Complex in Patna on January 7, 2014.

Poulomi Ghatak in action at the Patliputra Sports Complex hall in Patna on January 7, 2014.

Patna, January 7, 2014: The battle lines have been drawn loud and clear at the end of Stage 2 proceedings in the women’s team events in the Platinum Jubilee Year Senior National Table Tennis Championships at the Patliputra Sports Complex here today.

Though team title holders Delhi, as expected, topped Group A, they have been drawn to meet a tough Kerala in the pre-quarterfinals. Similarly, the second finished Chandigarh team has a most arduous job scaling the peak against PSPB, the No. 2 seeded team here. The Airport Authority of India, who topped group F will meet Rajasthan, who finished behind Tamil Nadu in group D.

However, the matches between Assam, who beat Punjab to make the cut, and North Bengal will be interesting despite the latter’s stature. Tamil Nadu will run into Odisha while Maharashtra A are slated to take on Andhra Pradesh in the pre-quarterfinals. Gujarat, who are taking on Maharashtra B, should sail into the quarters without a hiccup, particularly after the way Gujarat girls had played their group matches

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Though Gujarat took the top perch in group E, there was a tough battle between Assam and Punjab to decide the second spot from the group. Assam defeated Punjab 3-2 to romp home with Mahasweta Batsallya shouldering the team’s burden. She won both her singles to see her team through.

As for the men’s team matches, a clear picture in half a dozen groups will emerge only after the set of fourth round matches. However, there is hardly any doubt about the qualifications of top teams.

Teams like PSPB, West Bengal, Gujarat, RSPB and North Bengal, to name a few, are virtually through to the second stage matches even as they await their opponents from other groups. There was, however, a surprise in the form of Mizoram, comprising PSPB Academy players, Lalrin Puia and Lalhunlua, have been making right waves. The team from the northeast beat Andhra Pradesh 3-1 in the first round and is very much in line to make the grade.

Results: (Group A-H):

Men’s team (Stage 1-Round 1): PSPB bt Bihar 3-0, West Bengal bt Tripura 3-0, Punjab bt Pondicherry 3-0, Haryana bt Meghalaya 3-0, Maharashtra B bt Chandigarh 3-0, Gujarat bt Delhi 3-1, Odisha bt J and K 3-0, North Bengal bt Kerala 3-0, Chhatisgarh bt Jharkhand 3-0, Rajasthan bt Assam 3-0, RSPB bt Manipur 3-1, Maharashtra A bt Uttarakhand 3-0, Tamil Nadu bt Nagaland 3-0, Mizoram bt Andhra Pradesh 3-1; Round 2: PSPB w/o Goa, Bihar bt Himachal Pradesh 3-0, West Bengal bt Punjab 3-0, Tripura bt Pondicherry 3-1, Chandigarh bt Meghalaya 3-0, Haryana bt Maharashtra B 3-1, Gujarat bt Odisha 3-1, Delhi bt J and K 3-0, North Bengal bt Chhattisgarh 3-1, Kerala bt Jharkhand 3-0, Rajasthan w/o Sikkim, Assam bt Karnataka 3-0, RSPB bt Madhya Pradesh 3-0, Maharashtra A bt Manipur 3-0, Andhra Pradesh bt Nagaland 3-0,Tamil Nadu bt Uttar Pradesh 3-0.

Women’s team (Stage 1-Round 1): Delhi bt Bihar 3-0, PSPB bt Jharkhand 3-0, Maharashtra A bt Tripura 3-0, Odisha bt Himachal Pradesh 3-0, Chhattisgarh bt Meghalaya 3-1, Gujarat bt Punjab 3-0, Assam bt Uttar Pradesh 3-0, West Bengal bt Pondicherry 3-0, AAI bt Uttarakhand 3-0, Kerala bt Madhya Pradesh 3-2, North Bengal bt Goa 3-0, Maharashtra B bt Karnataka 3-1; Round 2: Delhi bt Chandigarh 3-0, PSPB bt Haryana 3-0, Maharashtra A bt Himachal Pradesh 3-0, Odisha bt Tripura 3-0, Tamil Nadu bt Chhatisgarh 3-0, Rajasthan bt Meghalaya 3-2, Gujarat bt Assam 3-0, Punjab bt Uttar Pradesh 3-0, West Bengal bt Andhra Pradesh 3-0, Pondicherry w/o Sikkim, North Bengal bt Maharashtra 3-0, Kerala bt Uttarakhand 3-0, Karnataka bt Goa 3-0; Round 3: Chandigarh bt Bihar 3-0, Haryana bt Jharkhand 3-0, Maharashtra A bt Odisha 3-0, Himachal Pradeshs bt Tripura 3-1, Tamil Nadu bt Meghalaya 3-0, Rajasthan bt Chhatisgarh 3-1, West Bengal w/o Sikkim, Gujarat bt Uttar Pradesh 3-0, Assam bt Punjab 3-2, Tamil Nadu bt Rajasthan 30, AAI bt Madhya Pradesh 3-1, Maharashtra B bt Goa 3-0, Madhya Pradesh bt Uttarakhand 3-1, North Bengal bt Karnataka 3-0.

TTFI release

Photos: Aftab Alam Siddiqui