Rich harvest by India paddlers; win all but one gold medal

Goa, January 23, 2014: India bagged all but one gold medal in the table tennis events at the third Lusofonia Games here today. Of the five gold medals on offer on the concluding day, Indian paddlers were just stopped from a clean sweep of the yellow metal as Portugal’s pair of Dioga Silva and Andre Silva claimed the men’s doubles gold.

Harmeet Desai, continuing with his great form that he hit this season, defeated former national champion Soumyajit Ghosh 4-1 (11-8, 11-2, 11-7,8-11, 11-7) to win the men’s singles gold while K. Shamini downed compatriot Madhurika Patkar 4-2 (5-11, 11-5, 11-7, 5-11, 11-7, 11-3) in a contest that went down to the wire.

Later, the two combined together to annex the women’s doubles gold as well, beating the Portugal duo of Marta Santos and Joana Mota in straight games. The mixed doubles was duly claimed by the Indian pair of Soumyajit Ghosh and Ankita Das, who beat Portugal’s Diogo Silva and Joana Mota 3-0, thus making amends for their losses in other events.

Desai wasted no time in taking grip of the singles final even as Ghosh was struggling to find his feet. Running up a 3-0 lead, the Gujarati lad had the measure of his opponent, attacking on both flanks. Ghosh, on the other hand, was making far too many errors, both at the net as well as in service, from which he could never get out. But credit must be given to Desai whose relentless attack kept Ghosh away from any harm’s distance despite he managed to win the fourth game.

Shamini began on a wrong note only to straighten things out soon enough. Madhurika, known for her attacking game, was somewhat subdued once she let her rival off the hook in the fifth game and with that her chance of winning the gold. Shamini seized the offerings to win the last two games coolly to grab the gold, leaving Madhurika with the silver.

India also bagged two bronze medals, one each in the men’s doubles and mixed doubles besides the two team gold medals they had won on the second day of the Games.

RESULTS:

Men Singles: (Final): Harmeet Desai (Ind) bt Soumyajit  Ghosh (Ind) 4-1 (11-8, 11-2, 11-7, 8-11, 11-7); Semi-finals:  Soumyajit           Ghosh  bt  Andre Silva (Por) 4-0 (11-7, 11-6, 11-5, 11-5), Harmeet Desai bt Dioga Silva 4-0 (11-7, 11-7, 11-8, 11-8); Bronze: Andre Silva (Por) bt Dioga Silva (Por) 4-0 (11-7, 11-6, 11-7, 12-10).

Men’s doubles (Final): Dioga Silva/Andre Silva (Por) bt Jorge Costa/Dinis Chunha (Por) 3-1 (11-7, 9-11, 11-4, 11-5); Bronze: Soumyajit Ghosh/Harmeet Desai bt Le Chon Cheok/Ka Hou NG (Mac) 3-2 (7-11, 11-5, 7-11, 11-5, 11-7).

Women’s singles (Final): K. Shamini (Ind) bt Madhurika Patkar (Ind) 4-2 (5-11, 11-5, 11-7, 5-11, 11-7, 11-3); Semi-finals: Madhurika Patkar bt Ankita Das 4-3 (11-6, 12-14, 5-11, 11-811-13, 11-6, 11-6), K. Shamini bt Raquel Andrade (Por) 4-0 (11-8, 11-9, 12-10, 11-4); Bronze: Ankita Das bt Raquel Andrade (Por) 4-0 (11-9, 11-7, 11-6, 12-10).

Women Doubles (Final):  K. Shamini /Madhurika Patkar (Ind) bt Marta Santos/Joana Mota (Por) 3-0 (11-5, 11-6, 11-6). Bronze: Raquel/Patricia (Por) bt Ishara Madurangi/Nuwani G. Vithanage (Sri) 3-2 (11-4, 9-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-6).

Mixed Doubles (Final): Soumyajit Ghosh/Akita Das (Ind) bt  Diogo Silva/Joana Mota (Por) 3-0 (11-8, 11-6, 11-9); Bronze: Harmeet Desai/K. Shamini (Ind) bt Andre Silva/Patricia Maciel (Por) 3-0 (11-6, 11-6, 12-10).