Winner Priyanka Pareek (right) posing with runner-up Prapti Sen (WB)
Chandigarh, June 28, 2016: Priyanka Pareek of Rajasthan held her
nerves in the closing stages of the Junior Girls final, fortunately converted
her sixth match-point to beat West Bengal’s Prapti Sen 4-3 and lift the golden
trophy in the 11Even Sports National Ranking (North Zone) Table Tennis
Championships at the Panjab University Gymnasium Indoor Hall here today.
It was fifth-seeded Priyanka’s maiden title and it had come
after some toil and sweat as the unseeded Prapti not only matched her opponent
stroke for stroke, but even threatened to take home the winner’s purse of Rs.
13,200 before she was stopped on her tracks. It’s another matter that she had
to settle for the runner-up prize, half of what Priyanka got.
At 5-1, Priyanka was a runaway hit with the spectators but
Prapti closed in on at 6-3. Yet, Priyanka continued with his excellent
backhands, including those wonderful edge-of-the-table placements. But the
little girl from Kolkata was adept at anything that Priyanka sent as she
narrowed down her rival’s lead to nil when she deuced at 10-10, saving five
match points.
But luckily for Priyanka, she got those two vital points
with a good forehand and when Prati failed to put the ball across, it was all
over bar the shouting for the West Bengal
girl.
Prapti had to labour a lot against the tough Abhinaya Ramesh
of Tamil Nadu before overcoming her 4-3 in what turned out to be a very good
match this evening. However, it was a contrasting semifinal between Priyanka
Pareek and Seleenadeepthi Selvakuar of Tamil Nadu which the former won 4-0 and
in double quick time.
Prapti, who has a few zonal titles in Cadet section, was a
picture of concentration against the rampaging Abhinaya, particularly when she
was down 1-2. But them she pulled her socks to go 3-2 up with the Tamil Nadu
girl failing to come to terms. Having broken her rhythm, the West
Bengal girl was playing fast and furious, pushing Abhinaya to the
brink. So much so, she just allowed her opponent four and three points each in
the fourth and fifth games. But then, Abhinaya was never the one to let things
go off her hands as she showed gumption to give the taste of Prapti’s own
medicine and stopped her at just three points.
With everything to play for in the decider, both players
kept a tight leash on their defence and were careful not to commit hara-kiri.
The trend continued well for quite some time with the two going neck and neck.
Yet, Prapti had a couple of lead at 7-5 but Abhinaya staged her recovery with
scorching forehands to close in on at 9-10. Squandering a match-point Prapti
allowed Abhinaya to deuce but she earned the subsequent two points to pull the
shutters on Abhinaya. Of course, it was disappointing for the Tamil Nadu girl,
but it was a game which anybody could have won.
The left-handed Priyanka, on the other hand, did not have to
sweat out much against another Tamil Nadu girl, Seleenadeepthi, who had
finished runner-up in the Junior Nationals last year at Dharamsala. But Seleena
can take heart from the fact that she could avenge her title loss at
Dharamasala to Kaushani Nath when she sent the West Bengal
girl packing in the quarterfinals earlier in the day.
Coming back to Priyanka’s semifinal game, she was too good
against the Tamil Nadu girl. After taking the first game at 11-8, she launched
her attack on Seleena systematically to demolish her. Seleena, without a clue,
did fight her way but it was too little to outwit the Rajasthan girl. The
The Junior Boys will play three rounds tomorrow, including
the final tomorrow.
As for the men and women’s main draw, it gets started from
tomorrow with the Olympics-bound top-seed Manika Batra and second-seeded Mouma
slated to begin their campaign in the North Zone in the afternoon.
Results:
Junior Girls: Final: Priyanka Pareek (Raj) bt Prapti
Sen (WB) 4-3 (11-8, 11-13, 11-6, 7-11, 9-11, 11-9, 12-10); Semifinals:
Priyanka Pareek (Raj) bt Seleenadeepthi Selvakumar (TN) 4-0 (11-8, 11-4, 11-7,
11-9), Prapti Sen (WB) bt R. Abhinaya (TN) 4-3 (8-11, 11-3, 11-13, 11-4, 11-3,
3-11, 12-10); Quarterfinals: Seleenadeepthi Selvakumar (TN) bt Kaushani
Nath (WB) 4-0 (13-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-9), Priyanka Pareek (Raj) Surabhi Patwari
(WB) 4-0 (12-10, 15-13, 11-5, 11-5), R. Abhinaya (TN) bt Anusha
Kutumble (MP) 4-2 (12-10, 5-11, 11-8, 11-2, 6-11, 11-9), Prapti Sen (WB) bt
Varuni Jaiswal (Tel) 4-0 (13-11, 11-6, 11-1, 11-6).
Photo and news: TTFI
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