Singapore claim both singles gold, India silver as hosts end with highest ever tally

Surat, December 21, 2015: Anthony Amalraj could not become the only second Indian after Achanta Sharath Kamal to win the men’s singles gold as he went down to Singapore’s Chen Feng 2-4 in the Avadh 20th Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships at the Pandit Dindayal Upadhyay Indoor Stadium here today. The women singles gold, too, went the Singapore way when Zhou Yiyan beat Mouma Das 4-1.

However, this was the best ever Indian showing in a Commonwealth Championships as the hosts led the medal tally with three gold, five silver and seven bronze medals, including a gold and silver in team championships, for the total count of 16 medals. India’s highest tally was nine medals which the hosts had won at New Delhi two years ago.

Incidentally, Sharath’s was also the only individual medal in any championships and that came in 2004, besides leading the team to its first gold.

Singapore finished behind India with four gold and a team bronze medal. England’s men ended with one silver and their women, a bronze while Northern Ireland men and the women from Wales shared a bronze each.

Amalraj did well to come back but Chen’s strategy in game five paid off. Playing topspin game and serving with a lot of backspin, he put Amalraj in all sorts of trouble even as the game went neck and neck. No doubt, the Indian covered and used the angles well sending in down-the-line strokes which surprised the Singaporean. There were good, fast topspin rallies too from both. However, once he pocketed game five on the second game point, he surged ahead with a 9-3 lead in the sixth and Amalraj could at best close in but never alter the course of the final.    

The women’s singles final went along the expected line. Mouma could not raise her game against the world No. 46 and a superior paddler. After losing the first two games 7 and 5, the Indian gave a glimpse of return when she took the third. However, before Mouma could cause any further damage Zhou went on the offensive mode which fetched her gold, leaving the lesser medal to Mouma.   

In what was all-Indians second semifinal, Amalraj had the upper hand despite losing the first game rather sedately. But he picked momentum to lead 3-1 before allowing Sanil one game. But that was all he could do as Amalraj sealed the fate soon than later in the morning session.

When Ghosh was up 7-4 in the decider in the semifinals against Chen Feng, it looked he had preserved silver, if not gold. But the world No. 95 let the world No. 176 Singaporean off the hook, allowing him, initially a fewer points, and then the liberty to walk into the final. Ghosh tried his comeback and reached 9-10. Maybe a deuce at this stage could have brought him back in the match, but his push-return only went out to the elation of Chen.  

In women’s singles semifinals, Manika Batra couldn’t do much against top-seeded Zhou Yihan as the latter was on top right from the word go. The Indian managed just five points in each game was an indicator of the authority with which Zhou played. Zhou was adept to whatever variations that Manika brought in her service and simply smashed all highballs Manika sent at her.

On the other hand, Mouma after taking the first two games was pushed into her shell by Lin Ye. The Singapore woman was strong with her heavy topspin rallies and backspin service. That fetched her real dividends and she went a game up at 3-2. But Mouma, summoning all her experience, brought her back in the match when she took the sixth game. From there, it was Mouma all the way as Lin couldn’t do much against the wily Indian veteran.

Ghosh-Desai claim gold

Soumyajit Ghosh and Harmeet Desai deservingly won the men’s double gold, beating teammates G. Sathiyan and Devesh Karia 3-2. The tough final saw good, speedy rallies but the experienced pair held on to go over the line. Earlier in the semifinals, Ghosh and Desai did not have to push themselves far to beat compatriots Sudhanshu Grover and Abhishek Yadav 3-1. But it was a shock defeat for another reputed pair of Anthony Amalraj and Sanil Shetty against the new combination of G. Sathiyan and Devesh Karia. The latter duo simply packed off, winning the second semifinal 3-0.

In women’s doubles, Lin Ye and Zhou Yihan of Singapore defeated Manika Batra and Ankita Das 3-0 without a whimper for the gold medal. The Indians had to satisfy with the silver. Earlier, India won another bronze through Mouma Das and K. Shamini who lost 2-3 in the semifinals to Singapore’s top pair of Lin Yee and Zhou Yihan who had to shed early glitches to beat their Indian opponents.

Results:

Men’s Singles: Final: Chen Feng (SIN) bt Anthony Amalraj 4-2 (11-5, 11-5, 9-11, 6-11, 14-12, 11-7);Semifinals: Chen Feng (SIN) bt Soumyajit Ghosh 4-3 (11-9, 9-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9), Anthony Amalraj bt Sanil Shetty 4-2 (6-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-3, 7-11, 11-7).

Women’s Singles: Final: Zhou Yihan (SIN) bt Mouma Das 4-1 (11-7, 11-5, 7-11, 11-2, 11-3);Semifinals: Zhou Yiyan (SIN) bt Manika Batra 4-0 (11-5, 11-5, 11-5, 11-5), Mouma Das bt Lin Ye (SIN) 4-3 (12-10, 11-9, 8-11, 1-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-7).

Men’s Doubles: Final: Soumyajit Ghosh/Harmeet Desai bt G. Sathiyan/Devesh Karia 3-2 (5-11, 11-.8, 10-12, 11-9, 11-3); Semifinals: Soumyajit Ghosh/Harmeet Desai bt Sudhanshu Grover/Abhishek Yadav 3-1 (11-1, 12-14, 11-9, 11-2), G. Sathiyan/Devesh Karia bt Anthony Amalraj/Sanil Shetty 3-0 (15-13, 11-4, 11-6).

Women’s Doubles: Final: Lin Ye/Zhou Yihan (SIN) bt Manika Batra/Ankita Das 3-0 (11-6, 11-9, 11-9);Semifinals: Manika Batra/Ankita Das bt Koh Kai Xin Pearlyn/Yee Herng Hwee (SIN) 3-0 (11-4, 11-2, 11-8), Lin Ye/Zhou Yihan (SIN) bt Mouma Das/K. Shamini 3-2 (3-11, 5-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-8).

TTFI Press release

Sathiyan-Ankita pair hunts down Ghosh-Mouma for gold

Surat, December 20, 2015: The Indian pair of G. Sathiyan and Ankita defeated Soumyajit Ghosh and Mouma Das 11-7, 8-11, 15-13, 11-7 to win their first gold in the Avadh 20th Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships at the Pandit Dindayal Upadhyay Indoor Stadium here today.

Ghosh and Mouma had to satisfy with the silver, while the bronze went to another Indian pair of Sanil Shetty and Manika Batra.

With these three medals in pocket, along with the teams’ goad (men) and silver (women), India overhauled their highest medal tally—they won nine medals from the last edition at New Delhi—to reach the figure of 16 medals.

India sweep clean

It was a clean sweep of medals for the Indian men’s pairs, thanks to a fine performance by Sudhanshu Grover and Abhishek Yadav, who outsmarted the No. 2 seed duo of Singapore’s Panx Xue Ji and Chen Feng in the fourth quarterfinal.

Grover and Yadav beat their rivals 11-6, 10-12, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8 to earn a semifinal meeting with Soumyajit Ghosh and Harmeet Desai who got a walkover from the Scottish pair of Rumgay Gavin and Craig Howieson, who had to return home last night.    

The other semifinal will feature Anthony Amalraj and Sanil Shetty who accounted for Cyprus’ Marios Yiangou and Hristo Hristonov 11-2, 11-5, 11-4, and G. Sathiyan and Devesh Karia, the two benefitting from the walkover of top-seeded Singapore duo of Li Hu and Chew Zhe Yu Clarence. Earlier in the day, Li Hu had pulled out citing side strain and fever.

TTFI Press release

Indians on course for a record medal hunt

Surat, December 20, 2015: Indian men were guaranteed three singles medal leaving the fourth one to Singapore in the Avadh 20th Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships at the Pandit Dindayal Upadhyay Indoor Stadium here today.

But the bigger news is that the Indians looked like overhauling their best ever tally of nine medals, including more gold, as the hosts have already assured themselves of medals in doubles medals in both the sections, apart from the team gold and silver.

Soumyajit Ghosh rolled over his Scottish rival Gavin Rumgay 11-4, 11-8, 11-6, 12-10, but G. Sathiyan fell to world No. 176 Chen Feng of Singapore 11-13, 11-9, 7-11, 10-12, 11-4, 5-11. Saithiyan has to blame himself for squandering the fourth game after a sizeable 10-7 lead which allowed Chen came back strongly and reach the semifinals. If only he had won, it would have given him a comfortable 3-1 lead and confidence to go over the hurdle.

Yet the Indian presence in the semifinal became evident as in the all-India quarterfinals, Anthony Amalraj taught a lesson or two to southpaw Abhishek Yadav, winning the match 11-4, 11-4, 11-4, 11-2 in flat 22 minutes. Abhishek, ranked way below his rival (212), could not counter the speedy Amalraj despite possessing good strokes and went down without a murmur. In contrast, left-handed Sanil Shetty (267) overcame local boy and higher-ranked (155) Harmeet Desai 9-11, 4-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-5.

The turnaround in the match was the fourth game where Sanil was allowed too much leeway—Harmeet was error-prone—to steady at 2-3. The Surat boy still had his chance coming, but Sanil mounted pressure and took the fifth in the nick of time by a minimal points. And, in the decider, Sanil attacked right from the word go and Harmeet wilted, surrendering meekly.

In the pre-quarterfinals, Harmeet defeated England’s Helshan Weerasinghe 11-13, 11-8, 11-7, 8-11, 6-11, 11-6, 16-14. The Indian saved two match-points and on his second won the crucial decider when Helshan sent the ball out after a couple of rallies.  

With two Singapore players in the women’s quarterfinals, it was always going to be difficult for the hosts' paddlers and that is precisely what happened with Ankita Das and K. Shamini. Nevertheless both Mouma Das and Manika Batra assured each at least a bronze medal. The biggest problem, however, will be their rivals in the semifinals, the top two seeds of the championships!  

No. 2 Indian Mouma had a tough time against Pooja who, backed by a good form, took her compatriot the full distance. It looked as if Mouma will sail through, but Pooja had the audacity to challenge the national champion by levelling the score. In the decider, Pooja fought well to close in to level 8-all but the attacking Mouma turned the heat on her rival to seal the fate with a 11-6, 8-11, 11-7, 12-10m 8-11, 10-12, 11-8 verdict.

On the other hand, it was an easy going for Manika against England’s Ho Tin-Tin, whom the Indian had beaten in the team event. Knowing each other well after the team matches, both treaded a cautious approach but when it mattered Manika upped the ante to go 2-0 up. But the pen-holder grip player pulled one down to raise the banner of a fight. However, it never happened as Manika steadied herself and shut her out in the next two for an easy 11-6, 11-6, 2-11, 11-7, 11-2 triumph.   

It was always going to be difficult for Shamini against the world No. 46 Zhou Yihan. Shamini did well to bring down the pace of game. However, Zhou was clever enough to change her game after being down 1-2 to bring Shamini more miseries. The Indian could not cope with it.

Ankita started well against Lin Ye, the world No. 57, taking the first two games to give more hope of the Indian’s advancement. The Singaporean, who was slow to warm up, did not waste time and energy to put it across Ankita 9-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-6, 11-8.

The other five Indians to make it to the last eight stages were Anthony Amalraj wbo beat Engalnd’s David McBeath 9-11, 11-7, 11-6, 6-11, 11-4, 11-4, Sanil Shetty who accounted for Singapore’s Chew Zhe Yu Clarence 11-4, 11-7, 13-11, 11-7, G. Sathiyan who downed Marios Yiangou of Cyprus 11-4, 11-6, 11-9, 11-5, Soumyajit Ghosh, who rolled over Singapore’s Pang Xue Jie, in straight games of 11-3, 17-15, 11-9, 11-2 and Abhishek Yadav who got a walkover from top-seed Singaporean Li Hu. The latter withdrew citing of ill-health.

Of the two other Indians in fray, Sudhanshu Grover went down to Scotland’s Gavin Rumgay 11-9, 5-11, 8-11, 9-11, 11-6, 9-11 and Devesh Karia lost 15-13, 9-11, 5-11,8-11, 6-11 to higher-ranked Singapore’s Chen Feng.

In mixed doubles semifinals, the Indian pair of G. Sathiyan and Ankita Das beat compatriots Sanil Shetty and Manika Batra 11-2, 13-11, 7-11, 11-8 to earn a gold medal meeting with the other pair, comprising Soumyajit Ghosh and Mouma Das today evening. Both Ghosh and Mouma were scheduled to meet the top Singaporean pair of Li Hu and Zhou Yiyan but Li withdrew owing to ill-health, giving a walkover. The Sanil-Manika duo will be awarded the bronze.

In the morning Singapore’s top-seed and world No. 59, Li Hu, pulled out of contest citing fever and body ache.  

TTFI Press release

India assured of a silver and bronze in mixed events

Surat, December 19, 2015: India assured of a silver and bronze medals in the mixed doubles event of the 20th Avadh Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships here this evening.

Of the three Singapore and Indian pairs, the latter had a better percentage winning three quarterfinals while Singapore’s top-seeded duo of Lin Hu and Zhou Yihan managed to beat India’s Anthony Amalraj and K. Shamini 11=-3, 11-3, 11-9.

Among the other Indian combinations, Soumyajit Ghosh and Mouma Das downed Singapore’s second-seeded Chen Feng and Yee Herng Hwe 13-11, 11-1, 11-6 and earned a semifinal meeting with the top Singaporean pair.

G. Sathiyan and Ankita Das defeated third seeds David McBeath and Karina Le Fevre 11-4, 9-11, 11-2, 115 for the second semifinal showdown against Sanil Shetty and Manika Batra, who blanked out Singapore Chew Zhe Yu Clarence and Lin Ye.

TTFI Press release

Indians keep the faith, enter main draw

Surat, December 19, 2015: All the four Indian men and women paddlers, who went through the qualification process, happily moved into the singles main draw of the 20th Avadh Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships at the Pandit Dindayal Upadhyay Indoor Stadium here today.

But their further happiness depends on the advancement they make as they could to run into some of the better and seeded players in the run-up to the medal rounds. Even among the men’s qualifiers, there a few lucky ones who have received first-round byes. For instance, both the left-handed Sanil Shetty and Sudhanshu Grover have been accorded this largesse, thanks to their higher rankings.

In the top-half of men’s draw, Abhishek Yadav runs into top-seed Li Hu of Singapore in the pre-quarters while Anthony Amalraj will meet England’s David McBeath, who poses some troubles to the hosts in team event. Shetty was lucky enough to get the best possible draw as he will meet Singapore’s weak link in team event, Chew Zhe Yu Clerence in the last 16 and is expected to go through to the quarterfinals. Harmeet Desai may run into Helsan Weerasinghe in the pre-quarters.

As for the bottom half, second seeded Somyajit Ghosh is expected to go through to the medal round without a hitch, but G. Sathiyan could meet Singapore’s sixth-seeded Chen Feng in the last eight stages. Unseeded Devesh Karia has to go past Chen if he nourishes any chance of upsetting Sathiyan in the quarters to enter the semifinals. Sudhanshu Grover is expected to move into the quarterfinals but he will run into compatriot Ghosh there.

Simialrly, it was a pleasant result for the hosts to see all four Indian women qualifiers entering the second stage. However, it remains to be seen how many out of the eight Indian eves, including those four who were given direct entries in the main draw, survives to go through to the medal round.

One look at the draw can put things in perspective. There are two Indians practically in every quarter and that produces a clearer picture, reducing their rate of survival by every match. The match between K. Shamini and Louiza Kourea of Cyprus could be tricky but Manika Batra should easily overcome Sri Lankan Erandi Warusawithana and enter the pre-quarterfinals from the top half. Similarly, Mouma Das and Ankita, from the bottom half, have better chance than Pooja Sahasrabuddhe.

In other words, Madhurika Patkar and Krittiwika Sinha Roy crossing the first hurdle is completely ruled out as they are drawn to meet top two seeds in the first round of the championships. Even Divya Deshpandey will find it difficult to go past Ho Tin-Tin, a difficult customer.

Of all the Indian women, unranked Divya Deshpande has had two tough matches—first against Singapore’s Yee Herng Hwee, who is ranked 379 in the world, and Ruvini Kannangara of Sri Lanka—and came out unscathed in two five-setters. In the first round, Madhurika Patkar, also unranked, downed Sri Lanka’s Isara Madurangi, ranked 434 in the world, 11-7, 11-7, 11-8.

Both Devesh Karia and Abhishek Yadav had at least one round of difficult matches but they overcame to enter the main draw. Abhishek beat Kut Lingeveldt of South Africa 11-8, 12-10, 4-11, 11-6 in the first round while Devesh outsmarted Ryan Jenkins of Wales 11-5, 4-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-9 in the second. But of these, all other had a very smooth passage.

All Indian Results:

Men: First Round: Sanil Shetty bt Jordan Wykes (JEY) 11-6, 11-2, 11-5, Sudhanshu Grover bt Hugo Tupper (JEY) 11-4, 11-5, 11-5, Devesh Karia bt Josh Alexandre (NZ) 11-2, 11-1, 11-2, Abhishek Yadav bt Kurt Lingeveldt (RSA) 11-8, 12-10, 4-11, 11-6; 2nd  round: Devesh Karia bt Ryan Jenkins (WAL) 11-5, 4-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-9, Abhishek Yadav bt Cutis Humphreys (TTO) 13-11, 11-2, 7-11, 11-2; 3rd  round: Sanil Shetty bt Arun Roopnarine (TTO)11-6, 11-3, 11-4, Sudhanshu Grover bt Hristo Hristonov (CYP) 11-6, 11-9, 10-12, 11-4, Devesh Karia bt Aaron Wilson (TTO) 11-6, 12-10, 11-8, Abhishek Yadav bt Tom Jarvis (ENG) 4-11, 11-4, 11-9, 11-7.

Women: First Round: Pooja Sahasrabuddhle bt Linda Partap (TTO) 11-2, 11-4, 11-3, Krittwika Sinha Roy bt Ashley Givan (IRL) 11-6, 11-6, 4-11, 9-11, 12-10, Divya Deshpandey bt Yee Herng Hwee (SIN) 11-8, 11-5, 11-7, Madhurika Patkar bt Isara Madurangi (SRI) 11-7, 11-7, 11-8; 2nd  round: Divya Deshpande bt Zodwa (RSA) 11-6, 11-9, 11-9, Madhurika Patkar bt Koh Kai Xin Pearlyn (SIN) 11-5, 11-9, 11-3, Krittwika Sinha Roy bt Khanyisile Madlala (RSA) 11-9, 11-3, 11-4; 3rd  round: Pooja Sahasrabudhe bt Caitlin Lingeveldt 11-7, 11-7, 11-1, Divya Deshpande b Ruvini Kannangara (SRI) 9-11, 13-15, 11-4, 11-6, 11-3, Madhurika Patkar bt Allena Edwards (TTO) 11-2, 11-3, 11-3, Krittiwika Sinha Roy bt Alexia Christodoulou (CYP) 11-5, 11-5, 11-4.

TTFI Press release

Indian men strike gold, women silver

Surat, December 18, 2015: Indian men claimed the team championship beating England 3-1 while their women’s squad had to satisfy themselves with the silver medal after losing to Singapore 1-3 in the final of the 20th Avadh Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships at the Pandit Dindayal Upadhyay Indoor Stadium here today.

The Indian men paddlers have done it only second time in 20 editions of the championships, having won gold in 2004 in Malaysia under Achanta Sharath Kamal, who went on to win his individual gold, too. For the women, this was the fourth occasion to claim silver. They had won the white metal in 1975, 1983 and 1991.

In the golden fight, England’s David McBeath gave a scare to both Harmeet Desai and India when the Indian, after leading 2-0, went down 2-3 in what was a wonderful comeback by the Englishman. David had the presence of mind to slow down the game and catch Harmeet on the wrong foot several times in the last three games to put his team one-up.

But Soumyajit Ghosh beat Helshen Weerasinghe rather easily to level the score as the Sri Lankan origin player did not have any answer to Ghosh’s rapid play.  Though Weerasinghe tried to borrow his team mate’s line, it did not work against the top Indian player.

G. Sathiyan, taking on England’s weakest link rolled over Tom Jarvis in straight games to put India 2-1 up. But the advantage cushion worked in favour of Ghosh in his reverse singles against McBeath despite the Englishman displaying all his tricks against the Indian. Ghosh, lost the second extended game, but caught up slowly but steadily to the chagrin of Indian spectators.

McBeath had Ghosh in all sorts of trouble despite the latter having a sizeable lead in both the games. In the third, Ghosh was up 4-0 but the England paddler came very close to the discomfiture of the host player. Similarly in the fourth, Ghosh was on top hurrying with his game and led 5-1 before allowing McBeath to level and go 6-5 up and 8-all. But then, Ghosh seized on a net error by his opponent and from there the game, match and the title went the Indian way.

Giving credit to McBeath, Ghosh said his team mates were confident of winning the gold. “Of course there was some pressure, but I am used to it. In the end, I could help team win and I am happy,” said the world’s top-ranked Indian in the current outfit.

Singapore superior

Singapore eves’ superiority was never in doubt, nor was there any false hope about the Indians upsetting their rivals in the final. However, one did expect our women paddlers to put up a semblance of fight to make the contest interesting. Instead, it turned out to be boring and one-sided. If Ankita, after taking the first game, faltered to deceive against Lin Ye, world No. 57, Manika couldn’t do much against Zhou Yihan, also ranked No. 46 in the world. Zhou was simply outstanding this evening. Veteran Mouma Das, with her experience, pulled one back beating Koh Kai Xin Pearlyn but Lin Ye downed Manika in her reverse singles to end India’s ordeal quickly.

You cannot blame the Indians in the face what the Singaporeans did on the table. Not only did they reveal quality but also a variations in strokes and counterstrokes besides working on the angles. The Indians, except Mouma, found them locked very much in a tight corner, unable to defy the logic, guile and pace their opponents had worked out.

Nevertheless, the Indian team has done a wonderful job to finish with silver—only the fourth such occasion—and that too after 24 years. The Indian women had won their last team silver in 1991 at Nairobi, Kenya.

Incidentally, it was at Nairobi championships that the Indian men’s team, comprising Kamlesh Mehta, Sujay Gorphade, Arun Barua, S. Raman and Chetan Baboor, had won their first team silver in 1991.    

Earlier in the day, Indian women beat England 3-1 and Singapore defeated Wales by the same margin in the semifinals.

Results:

Men’s Team:

Gold Medal match: India beat England 3-1 (Harmeet Desai lost to David McBeath 11-9, 11-9, 7-11, 9-11, 9-11, Soumyajit Ghosh bt Helshan Weerasinghe 11-7, 11-4, 11-7, G. Sathiyan bt Tom Jarvis 11-3, 11-6, 11-5, Soumyajit Ghosh bt David McBeath 11-6, 11-3, 11-9, 11-8).

Position 3: Singapore bt Northern Ireland 3-0; Position 5: Scotland bt South Africa 3-0; Position 7: Sri Lanka bt Trinidad & Tobago 3-0.

Groups E&F-Round 3: England bt Singapore 3-2 (David McBeath bt Chen Feng 11-4, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9, Helshen Weerasinghe lost to Li Hu 3-11, 13-11, 8-11, 8-11, Tom Jarvis bt Chew Zhe Yu Clarence 11-7, 5-11, 11-9, 11-5, David McBeath lost to Li Hu 2-11, 12-10, 8-11, 9-11, Helshen Weerasinghe bt Chen Feng 7-11, 11-9, 4-11, 11-9, 11-7), South Africa bt T&T 3-1 (Kurt Lingeveldt bt Curtis Humphreys 7-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-7, 11-9, Terrence Mathole bt Aaron Wilson 11-9, 7-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-5, Keegan Lingeveldt lost to Arun Roopnarine 11-8, 6-11, 2-11, 11-9, 4-11, Terrence Mathole bt Curtis Humphreys 11-9, 6-11, 11-5, 11-8); India bt Scotland 3-0 (Harmeet Desai bt Gavin Rumgay 11-8, 12-10, 11-9, Soumyajit Ghosh bt Christopher Wheeler 11-2, 111-6, 11-6, Anthony Amalraj bt Craig Howieson 9-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-9), Northern Ireland bt Sri Lanka 3-0 (Ashley Robinson bt Rohan Srisena 11-3, 11-8, 11-6, Paul McCreery bt Nirmala Jayasingha 12-10, 11-4, 11-6, Zak Wilson bt Jayasanka De Silva 11-9, 8-11, 11-9, 11-9).

Women’s Team: Final: Singapore bt India 3-0 

Semifinals: India bt England 3-1 (Manika Batra bt Karina Le Fevre 11-5, 11-5, 11-6, Ankita Das bt Ho Tin-Tin 12-10, 3-11, 12-10, 11-9, K. Shamini list to Maria Tsaptsinos 8-11, 7-11, 7-11, Manika Batra bt Ho Tin-Tin 11-5, 11-5, 11-7); Singapore bt Wales 3-0 (Lin Ye 11-9, 11-7, 11-5, Zhou Yihan b Charlottee Carey 11-5, 11-4, 11-4, Koh Kai Xin bt Megan Phillips 11-9, 8-11, 7-11, 13-11, 11-9).

Position 3: England bt Wales 3-1; Position 5: Sri Lanka bt Cyprus 3-1.

TTFI Press release

Indian women meet England, Singapore clash with Wales in semifinals

Surat, December 17, 2015: As anticipated, India’s women team will take on England when they completed their Group F league engagement and finished on top in Stage 2 of the 20th Avadh Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships at the Pandit Dindayal Upadhyay Indoor Stadium here today.

Similarly, Singapore women topped Group E and will clash with Wales, who finished behind India in Group F after beating Cyprus 3-0, in the other semifinal. England defeated Sri Lanka to take the No. 2 position in Group E.

So far, the Indian women have had comfortable 3-0 verdicts against all their opponents in the two stages, but Singapore faltered once in stage 2 and had a 3-1 score-line against England. The Indians, playing alongside in court No. 2, must have taken note of this as they prepare to meet England in the semifinals.

For the first time in two days, India’s think-tank on the bench tried out both Ankita Das and Divya Deshpande along with the top-ranked Indian Manika Batra against Cyprus. It was a complete success story, like the earlier ones when Mouma Das and K. Shamini participated. This victory also ensured that India keep their top position intact.

Singapore, in order to try out their full bench strength, must have felt the pinch when England’s Karina Le Fevre defeated Zhang Wanling in the third singles 11-6, 11-5, 11-1. But with Zhou Yihan and Lin Ye, players with the highest world rankings here, the one rubber loss of Zhang could, at best, be described as a mere aberration.

In 7-9 positional matches, South Africa downed Trinidad & Tobago 3-1 but a clear picture about who occupies which place will emerge only after other matches get over.

Rituals completed

In men’s team event, India went through the rituals and blanked out Northern Ireland and Sri Lanka in Group F while Singapore handed out a similar 3-0 drubbing to South Africa and Trinidad and Tobago in Group F. Both India and Singapore have a group match each against Scotland and England which should be mere formalities. After that the group leaders clash in the gold medal showdown, followed by positional matches—the third and fourth placed teams getting bronze medals.

India’s men squad tried out a third mix of Soumajit Ghosh, Anthony Amalraj and G. Sathiyan in the morning against Northern Ireland, then dropped Sathiyan and brought in Harmeet Desai against Sri Lanka to give the much-needed practice. Needless to say both blends worked to the advantage of India. Amalraj in the morning dropped a game against Ashley Robinson of Northern Ireland but went steady against Lankan Chameera Ginige, winning in straight games. In comparison, Soumyajit Sathiyan and Harmeet posted easy wins over their rivals in the two matches.      

In other morning matches, Singapore had easy outings against T&T as well as South Africa in Group E, but in Group F saw Wales beating Jersey 3-1 and Cyprus upset the New Zealand applecart 3-2 in a tough match. Last night, the Lankans had inflicted a similar verdict when they beat New Zealand 3-2 in the third round.

In a marathon three-hour 20 minutes Group F match, Northern Ireland beat Scotland 3-2. Incidentally, this was the second match that went to 23 out of a possible 25 games like the one between New Zealand and Sri Lanka last night.

Though Scotland lost to Northern Ireland, if they manage to beat India 3-1 they could play Singapore in the gold medal.

Apart from the pedestrian match, the highlight was Rumgay Gavin of Scotland being warned twice for indecent behavior on court with a yellow and red card and a penalty point was also given to his opponent.  

Results: Stage II:

Men’s Team (Groups E, F & G-Round 1): Singapore bt South Africa 3-0 (Chew Zhe Yu Clarence bt Keegan Lingeveldt 11-3, 11-4, 11-2, Li Hub t Terrence Mathole 11-9, 11-3, 11-3, Chen Feng bt Kurt Lingeveldt 11-2, 11-7, 11-8), England bt T&T 3-0 (Helshan Weerasinghe bt Arun Roopnaarine 11-6, 11-3, 11-2, Tom Jarvis bt Aaron Wilson 11-3, 11-8, 11-2, David McBeath bt Yuvraaj Dookram 11-9, 11-2, 11-8; India bt Northern Ireland 3-0 (Soumyajit Ghosh bt Zak Wilson 11-5, 11-6, 11-4, Anthony Amalraj bt Ashley Robinson 11-13, 11-4, 11-7, 11-9, G. Sathiyan bt Owen Cathcart 11-5, 11-3, 11-4), Scotland bt Sri Lanka 3-1 (Craig Howieson lost to Rohan Sirisena 4-11, 11-7, 9-11, 9-11, Gavin Gumgay bt Nirmala Jayasingha 11-7, 11-2, 11-7, Calum Main bt Chameera Ginige 11-8, 11-5, 11-7, Craig Howieson bt Nirmala Jayasingha 12-14, 11-7, 7-11, 11-7, 11-1); Wales bt Jersey 3-1 (Michael Marsden bt Joshua 5-11, 11-1, 11-6, 11-8, Callum Evans lost to Jordan Wykes 11-4, 8-11, 8-11, 10-12, Chris Griffiths bt 13-15, 11-6, 12-10, 11-6, Michael Marsden bt Jordan Wykes 8-11, 11-4, 11-5, 11-8), Cyprus bt New Zealand 3-2 (Hristo Hristonov lost to Matthew Ball 5-11, 11-6, 11-8, 6-11, 7-1, Marios Yiangou bt Josh Alexandre 11-6, 11-6, 11-9, Demetrios Katsouris lost to Lin Yi-Sien 10-12, 8-11, 11-13, Marios Yiangou bt Matthew Ball 11-7, 11-6, 8-11, 11-7, Hristo Hristonov bt Josh Alexandre 7-11, 7-11, 11-6, 11-6, 14-12).

(Groups E, F & G-Round 2): Singapore bt T&T 3-0 (Chen Feng bt Yuvraaj Dookram 11-9, 11-6, 11-6, Chew Zhe Yu Clarence bt Arun Roopnarine 11-8, 11-1, 11-7, Pang Xue Jie 9-11, 11-2, 13-11, 11-1), England bt South Africa 3-0 (David McBeath bt Kurt Lingeveldt 11-8, 11-9, 11-7, Helshan Weerasinghe bt Terrence Mathole 11-4, 14-12, 11-5, Tom Jarvis bt Keegan Lingeveldt 11-3, 12-14, 9-11, 11-1, 11-5); India bt Sri Lanka 3-0 (Harmeet Desai bt Rohan Sirisena 11-4, 11-1, 11-5, Soumyajit Ghosh bt Jayasanka De Silva 11-6, 11-8, 11-8, Anthony Amalraj bt Chameera Ginige 11-4, 11-4, 11-4), Northern Irelnd bt Scotland 3-2 (Paul McCreery lost to Gavin Rumgay 4-11, 5-11, 14-12, 14-12, 9-11, Ashley Robinson bt Craig Howieson 9-11, 11-9, 3-11, 12-10, 11-5, Owen Catchcart bt Christopher Wheeler 7-11, 11-7, 9-11, 9-11, Ashley Robinson bt Gavin Rumgay 7-11, 4-11, 19-17, 11-8, 11-9, Paul McCreery bt Craig Howieson 11-6, 11-8, 101-2, 11-9);  Cyprus bt Jersey 3-1 (Mario Yiangou bt Jordan Wykes 11-3, 11-5, 7-11, 11-2, Hristo Hristonov bt Hugu Tupper 11-5, 9-11, 11-8, 11-7, Stephanos Gregoriou bt Joshua Band 11-9, 7-11, 11-8, 11-7), Wales bt New Zealand 3-0 (Chris Griffiths bt Matthew Ball 18-16, 11-8, 11-3, Michael Marsden bt Lin Yi-Sien 8-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-6, Callum Evans bt Ben Collins 11-2, 13-11, 14-12).

Women’s Team (Groups E, F & G-Round 1): Singapore bt Sri Lanka 3-0 (Zhou Yihan bt Erandi Warusawithana 12-10, 11-4, 8-11, 12-14, 11-5, Lin Ye bt Hansani Kapugeekiyana 11-7, 11-3, 11-3, Koh Kai Xin Pearlyn Ruvini Kannangara 11-6, 11-2, 11-6); India bt Wales 3-0 (Mouma Das bt Megan Phillips 9-11, 12-10, 11-6, 11-3), Manika Batra bt Charlotte Carey 11-7, 11-8, 11-8, K. Shamini bt Chloe Thomas 11-9, 10-12, 11-4, 11-2); Northern Ireland bt South Africa 3-1 (Emma Ludlow bt Khanyisile Madlala 11-2, 9-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-8, Ashley Givan bt Zodwa Maphanga 11-6, 11-5, 11-7, Erin Thompson lost to Danisha Patel 11-9, 3-11, 5-11, 5-11, Ashley Givan bt Khanyisile Madlala 11-5, 12-10, 11-4).

(Groups E, F & G-Round 2): Singapore bt England 3-1 (Lin Ye bt Maria Tsaptsinos 11-8, 11-3, 11-6, Zou Yihan bt Ho Tin-Tin 11-8, 14-12, 11-7, Zhang Wanling lost to Karina Le Fevre 11-6, 11-5, 11-1, Lin Ye bt Ho Tin-Tin 11-13, 12-10, 11-6, 11-9); India bt Cyprus 3-0 (Manika Batra bt Sophia Koni 11-4, 11-4, 11-3, Ankita Das bt Louiza Kourea 11-3, 11-4, 11-8, Divya Deshpande bt Alexia Christodoulou 11-8, 11-5, 11-5); South Africa bt T&T 3-1 (Zodwa Maphanga bt Aleena Adwards 5-11, 14-12, 11-5, 9-11, 11-9, Khanyisile Madlala lost to Catherine Spicer 10-12, 7-11, 7-11, Danisha Patel bt Brittany Joseph 8-11, 11-5, 11-9, 10-12, 11-6, Khanyisile Madlala bt Allena Edwards 4-11, 11-4, 11-6, 4-11, 14-12), Wales bt Cyprus 3-0 (Charlotte Carey 11-6, 11-6, 9-11, 11-4, Chloe Thomas bt Louiza Kourea 11-5, 13-11, 8-11, 11-5, Megan Phillips bt Sophia Koni 11-7, 13-11, 11-8).

TTFI Press release

Dream draw for Indian women

Surat, December 16, 2015: Call it luck or what you may, the Indian women could not have bargained for a better second-stage draw than what fell on their platter. It was a dream come true open draw as coaches from Cyprus and Wales chose India as their opponents in Group F, while Singapore will have England and Sri Lanka for company in Group E of 20th Avadh Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships.

At the end of the fist-stage league matches at the Pandit Dindayal Upadhyay Indoor Stadium, with team coaches in attendance, the open draw proceedings were conducted this evening.

In open draw, fortune matters a lot and India found the lady luck on their side. This meant that the Indian women are expected to top the group and avoid meeting England until the semifinals. The Indians also would have been encouraged by the fact that English women were struggling against Wales in group matches as they approach the semifinals.

In other words, India should meet Singapore in the final provided on the day after assuming England finish second behind Singapore in Group E and India beat England in the semis.

Singapore, who face England in the second stage apart from Sri Lanka, will not mind who their opponents would be as the team from South East Asia is expected to enter the final.

As for men’s draw, neither India nor Singapore will have much to worry as they are already taken the top positions in Group E and F and await their opponents.

South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago and Northern Ireland will play for positions 7-9.

TTFI Press release

Singapore, India enter second stage; joint debut success for Harmeet, Devesh

Surat, December 16, 2015: As the first stage group matches got over in one of the two sections, it became amply clear which way the men’s team events were headed in the 20th Avadh Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships which began at the Pandit Dindayal Upadhyay Indoor Stadium here today.

All four seeded teams in each group—Singapore, India, England and Scotland—made no fuss and went about their tasks at hand in completing easy wins against their opponents even as the four second-placed teams joined them for the second stage matches which start tomorrow.

The second stage matches, too, will be played in league format with teams divided into two groups with both Singapore and India taking the top perch in groups E and F, respectively. However, what will interest the Indians or, for that matter, Singapore will be in which group England, another medal contender here, will be drawn into. The second stage draws are scheduled for later tonight.

As regards the women’s affair, it was a cakewalk for both Singapore and India but England struggled before overcoming a tough Wales 3-2 to leave the latter to play another set of third round matches to know which of the tams will join the second stage.

Coming to the days matches in both sections, Indian men team tried out two combinations—Soumyajit Ghosh, Harmeet Desai and Devesh Karia against Jersey and G. Sathiyan, Ghosh and Anthony Amalraj against Trinidad and Tobago—and both were expectedly successful as the results speak for themselves. So did Singapore bringing in Pang Xue Jie for their match against Sri Lnka, resting their top player Li Hu who opened against New Zealand.

In contrast, the coaches of the Indian women’s team kept their faith in the same combination of Mouma Das, Manika Batra and K. Shamini and repeated it in their matches against Northern Ireland and Sri Lanka. And the results were fruitful in both matches. Singapore, on the other hand, had rested Lin Ye, who had to play both singles to get the team across against South Africa who lost 1-3 and Zhang Wanling. Instead of them, they introduced Zhou Yihan, their next best player, and Koh Kai Xin Pearlyn, in the match against Cyprus. Probably, they knew it was good to assess their bench strength before the crucial semifinals following second stage.  

Gujarat’s Harmeet Desai and Devesh Karia, who made their maiden appearance together for India, played their roles to perfection as they helped second-seeded India beat Jersey 3-0 in the first round match of the team championships. With Soumyajit Ghosh spearheading the campaign, he gave a fine start winning his singles against Hugo Tupper in straight games. As if on cue, both Desai and Karia who played their singles against 16-year-old Jordan Wykes and Joshua Band, respectively, kept the momentum on India’s side to notch up straight games wins.

As for women’s events, Indians led all the way to easily down Northern Ireland 3-0. Mouma, who dropped a game to her rival Ashley Givan, caught up soon to win 3-1 while Manika Batra and K. Shamini had no such hiccups as they beat their opponents in straight games.

Results:

Men’s Team (Round 1): Singapore bt New Zealand 3-0 (Li Hub t Mattehew Ball 11-7, 11-7, 12-10, Chen Feng bt Lin Yi-Sien 11-1, 11-5, 11-5, Chew Zhe Yu Clerence bt Alexandre Josh 11-4, 11-5, 11-6); India bt Jersey 3-0 (Soumyajit Ghosh bt Hugo Tupper 11-6, 11-3, 1-7, Harmeet Desai bt Jordan Wykes 11-5, 11-7, 11-6, Devesh Karia bt Joshua Band 11-5, 11-4, 11-9); England bt Wales 3-0 (Michael Marsden 11-7, 11-13, 9-11, 11-3, 11-4, Helshan Weerasinghe bt Chris Griffiths 11-5, 11-7, 11-3, Tom Jarvis bt Callum Evans 11-8, 9-11, 11-7, 11-9); Scotland bt South Africa 3-1 (Gavin Rmgay bt Kegan Lingeveldt 11-5, 11-9, 11-5, Craig Howieson bt Kurt Lingeveldt 11-9, 11-6, 11-6, Calum Main lost to Terrence Mathole 9-11, 8-11m 9-11, Gavin Rumgay bt Kurt Lingeveldt 11-9, 11-8, 11-4).

Round 2: Singapore bt Sri Lanka 3-0 (Chen Feng 11-5, 11-4, 11-6, Chew Zhe Yu Clerence bt Nirmala Jayasingha 11-3, 11-3, 11-5, Pang Xue Jie bt Chameera Ginige 11-5, 1-6, 11-4); India bt T&T 3-0 (G.Sathiyan bt Aaron Wilson 11-2, 11-1, 11-3, Soumyajit Ghosh bt Yuvraaj Dookram 11-5, 11-8, 11-5, Anthony Amalraj bt Curtis Humphreys 11-6, 11-4, 11-5); England bt N. Ireland 3-0 (Tom Jarvis 11-3, 11-9, 11-8, Helshan Weerasinghe bt Paul McCreery 11-4, 11-8, 10-12,11-6, Alexander Ramsden bt Zak Wilson 11-6, 12-14, 11-8, 6-11, 11-7), Scotland bt Cyprus 3-0 (Craig Howieson bt Marios Yiangou 12-10, 4-11, 11-7, 6-11, 12-10, Gavin Rumgay bt Hristo Hristonov 11-6, 11-3, 11-6, Christopher Wheeler bt Stephanos Gregoriou 11-6, 11-4, 8-11, 11-7).   

Women’s Team (Round 1): Singapore bt Cyprus 3-0 (Zhou Yihan bt Alexia Christodoulou 11-1, 11-3, 11-3, Yee Herng Hwee bt Louiza Kourea 11-7, 8-11, 11-3, 11-6, Koh Kai Xin Pearlyn bt Sophia Koni 11-6, 12-10, 11-5); India bt Northern Ireland 3-0 (Mouma Das bt Ashley Givan 18-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-1, Manika Batra bt Emma Ludlow 11-7, 11-8, 11-1, K. Shamini bt Emma McSorley 11-5, 11-0, 11-5); England bt Trinidad & Tobago 3-0 (Ho Tin-Tin bt Linda Pratap 11-3, 11-6, 11-4, Karina Le Fevre bt Catherine Spicer 11-7, 11-6, 11-8, Maria Tsaptsinos bt Brittany Joseph 11-4, 11-5, 11-5).  

Round 2: Singapore bt South Africa 3-1 (Lin Ye bt Danisha Patel 11-7, 11-7, 11-6, Yee Herng Hwee lost to Khanyisile Madlala 5-11, 11-3, 5-11, 9-11, Zhang Wanling bt Zodwa Maphanga 12-10, 11-9, 11-6, Lin Ye bt Khanyisile 11-2, 11-2, 12-10); India bt Sri Lanka 3-0 (Mouma Das bt Hansani Kapugeekiyana 11-3, 11-2, 11-9, Manika Batra bt Erandi Warusawithana 11-4, 11-2, 11-7, K. Shamini bt 11-4, 11-4, 11-4); England bt Wales 3-2 (Karina Le Fevre lost to Charlottee Carey 6-11, 16-18, 11-2, 6-11, Ho Tin-Tin bt Chloe Thomas 7-11, 11-5, 11-4, 6-11, 11-5, Maria Tsaptsinos bt Megan Phillips 11-6, 11-8, 11-4, Ho Tin-Tin lost to Charlotte Carey 13-15, 10-12, 7-11, Karina Le Fevre bt Chloe Thomas 11-3, 5-11, 12-10, 12-10).

TTFI Press release

Singapore teams get top billing, Indians seeded 2nd

Surat, December 15, 2015: Singapore’s men and women teams have been accorded the top-seeding with the Indian squads placed behind them at No. 2 following the open draw proceedings on the eve of the team championships of the 20th Avadh Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships at the Pandit Dindayal Upadhyay Indoor Stadium here today.

The seeding of each team was based on the individual rankings of their three best players who are participating here. With only 12 teams taking part in the men’s event, the squads were divided into four groups and the nine women’s sides in three groups.

Singapore’s men have been drawn in group A, clubbed with Sri Lanka and New Zealand while India takes the top position in group B along with Trinand & Tobago and Jersey. England, who are seeded No. 3 here, form part of Group C with Northern Ireland and Wales and Group D comprises No. 4 seeded Scotland, Cyprus and South Africa.

As for women’s draw, again Singapore in Group A have for company South Africa and Cyprus and India in Group B have Sri Lanka and Northern Ireland. England, Wales and South have been clubbed into Group C.

The format of play, according to Commonwealth regulations, two teams from each group in men’s section will qualify for the second stage and the winners of these groups will be divided into further two groups of E and D to play another set of league matches. The teams that take the top perch in each of these E and D groups will clash for the gold medal. The rest of the teams will play positional matches with the third and fourth finish squads getting the bronze medals.

However, there is a small twist has been provided in women’s draw. Like the men, the women, too, play the first stage group matches with top two teams qualifying for the second stage with another set of leagues matches among the six teams divided into two groups of D and E. The two teams emerging on top from these groups will play on a cross knock-out basis.

Interestingly, the teams’ draw makes the prediction loud and clear as who could emerge the gold winners in the two categories. If Singapore’s burden is on the shoulders of Li Hu, who is ranked 59 in the world, the responsibility of winning the women’s team championships will be on Zhou Yihan (46), the only player figuring in the top-50 of the world here. Of course, she has world No. 57 in Lin Ye whose support Zhou can expect if and when there is a need.

On the other hand, India will rely mostly on the experience of Soumyajit Ghosh (world No. 95) and expect Anthony Amalraj, G. Sathiyan, Harmeet Desai and Devesh Karia, the last two named from Gujarat, to pitch in whenever called to do duty.

With the format allowing only three players to be named in the squad, it all depends on the cleverness of the coaches to get their combinations right.

The first lot of matches begins tomorrow at 10 a.m. with the women’s team event and followed by men’s matches.

With no matches scheduled for the day, a glittering opening ceremony was the major attraction of all teams and spectators alike with Bhupendra Sinh Chudasama as the chief guest. The minister along with several other dignitaries from the Government of Gujarat, SAG, SMC and officials from the CTTF, TTFI and GSTTA, who were part of the gala opening, enjoyed the teams’ march-past and wonderful cultural programmes that followed with display of various dance forms by children drawn from Surat’s different schools.

      

Rankings no yardstick to gauge team talent in Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships

Surat, December 14, 2015: The quality of players appearing on the stage of a Commonwealth event may not be of a high calibre when compared with other events. Yet some players that will participate in the 20th Avadh Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships, beginning at the Pandit Dindayal Upadhyay Indoor Stadium here from Wednesday, are not a mismatch by any stretch of imagination.

A close scrutiny of the players list and going by the current world ranking, the top-ranked men’s player happens to be Singapore’s Li Hu at 59, while the next best player is Soumyajit Ghosh of India at 95. Singapore’s other players ranked in the 150-and-above bracket like the other Indians in fray here.

In a way, both the teams may be more or less matching each other in the ITTF’s world ranking but the experience of Li will count for when the two teams match-up during the championships in team events. Li, who is a regular on the ITTF circuit events and consistent at that, has been able to maintain his ranking in the 50s. Ghosh, on the other hand, while being a regular with his league commitments in Germany and Poland, has failed to consider the ITTF tournaments.

That’s where the difference between Achanta Sharath Kamal and Ghosh or, for that matter with Anthonhy Amalraj and Harmeet Desai. Sharath, who suffered a hip injury in the world championships in China, has been maintaining his world ranking in the 50s and 60s. But his recent injury just before the championships has come as a jolt to the organizers as well as India.

In comparison to men’s ranking, Singapore’s Zhou Yihan is the only player in the top-50 and it will be she who holds the key to her team’s success. The world No. 46, along with world No. 57 Lin Ye will shoulder the team’s entire burden.

As for the hosts, the top-ranked Indian is Manika Batra at 166 and veteran Mouma Das is the next best at 20 places above her in world ranking. The rest of the team is in the above-200 bracket. That obviously puts India the second best team on view at the championships here. Unlike the men players who have more exposure through professional leagues or playing in ITTF tournaments, the women’s team members depend on only ITTF tournaments for logging valuable ranking points. Only K. Shamini has the experience of playing in a professional league.

Even the English men’s team has only one player in David Mcbeath at No. 350 while his other team members are 460 and above in world rankings. England, who had a dominant position in Commonwealth table tennis for a long period, is struggling to catch up with teams like Singapore and New Zealand, who have in their ranks players of Chinese origin.

Cyprus arrives

Meanwhile, team members from Cyprus were the first to hit base here and a few members also visited the stadium. However, they skipped the practice session today and felt very happy with the arrangements and amazed to see the wonderful stadium. “The lighting and playing conditions are very good here. We are enjoying the atmosphere,” said Stephanos Gregoriou, their most experienced player, who is ranked 646 in the world.

Four Singapore players arrived today while the rest are expected later tonight. Wales, England, New Zealand and Jersey are also expected here in the wee hours as they are coming via Mumbai. The Indians, too, will arrive at Surat tomorrow afternoon from Gandhinagar, where they had been training.

Three teams—South Africa, Sri Lanka and Trinidad and Tobago—are expected to reach here by tomorrow evening.   

TTFI Press release