Sathiyan, Poulomi win Institutional TT singles titles

New Delhi, August 22, 2014: At 10-9 serving for the championship point, G. Sathiyan must have had his foot in the mouth. Luckily, the rally yielded him the last point which came off a backhand flick. It was very badly needed as Sathiyan had goofed it up in the previous game—he missed two championships point—while allowing Soumyajit Ghosh save six.

Thus Sathiyan, a Youth Boys and national ranking champion, graduated to the next level to bocame the men’s singles champion in the AAI 44th Inter-Institutional Table Tennis Championships at the Tyagraj Stadium here on Friday. He defeated PSPB colleague and last year’s champion Soumyajit Ghosh in the final 4-2.

Sathiyan comples a triple:

“A great victory, coming after a long time,” said Sathiyan who also bagged two more crowns here—men’s doubles with Sourav Saha and also the team title three days ago. “I was really delighted to keep my attacking posture right through. Credit to my coach S. Raman (former national champion),” added Sathiyan.

Indeed, Sathiyan was on a rampaging form. It reflected in the final match as well as he went ahead 2-1 before letting Ghosh stage a comeback in the fifth game. 

Leading comfortably at 9-5 he let the chance go by as Ghosh, slowly but surely, closed in on to narrow down the margin to 2-3. But in the decider, Sathiyan surged ahead with a 9-2 lead, only to make a few errors at the net raising doubts about his ability to hold on a bigger stage. But in the end, he came calm and clean to win the crown and with it Rs. 75,000 being the winner’s cheque.

Similarly, fit-again former national champion Poulomi Ghatak demonstrated that all was well with her play to defeat young Pooja Sahasrabudhe in the women’s singles final 4-2 in the evening, after having felled second-seed Madhurika Patkar in the semifinal 4-3 in the morning. Poulomi’s efforts fetched her Rs. 58,000.

Poulomi picks up steam:

Poulomi was slow to begin but picked up steam midway, winning one and losing one. She made several errors in the third and fourth game but managed to win the last to go 3-1 up. Nevertheless, the error-prone Pooja put up a semblance of fight in the fifth to win it 11-8. But that was all she could do as the veteran Poulomi won the next rather easily to claim the title.

In the first semifinal, Ghosh was in good form disposing of national champion Sanil Shetty 4-0 in just 25 minutes. The left-handed Shetty was groping in the dark, unable to answer the questions posed by Ghosh. Shetty came into groove only in the fourth extended game which Ghosh won 12-10 putting any speculation to rest.

Sathiyan, already on a roll in the championships, defeated FCI’s Sarthak Gandhi 4-1 in the second. Gandhi, who had put up a good display so far, found Sathiyan too hot to handle. Sathiyan played an aggressive game throughout giving little room for his opponent to manoeuvre. Keeping the ball short and executing his forehand to perfection, Sathiyan never relaxed his grip over the match.

But credit should go to Poulomi for upping the ante after the fourth game while trailing 1-3. No doubt, Madhurika played into her rival’s hands and was probably overawed by her senior opponent’s aggression. Poulomi won the last three games with greater ease which told the pathetic story of the No. 2 seed letting the former national off the hook.

Pooja too had several anxious moments in her semifinal against Mousumi Paul. The two PSPB girls played a see-saw match with swinging fortunes, particularly in the fifth game which Pooja won 14-12. That gave the confidence to Pooja who just shut out Mousumi’s challenge in the next without wasting any more time.

AAI women win doubles:

For hosts AAI, a consolation title came in the shape of women’s doubles win as Nikhat Bhanu and Kritwikka Sinha Roy combined well against the PSPB pair of Reeth Rishya and Narasimha Priya to win 3-0. The men’s doubles title went to G. Sathiyan and Sourav Saha who beat Ghosh and Harmeet Desai 3-0.

Results:

Men (Final): G. Sathiyan (PSPB) bt Soumyajit Ghosh (PSPB) 4-2 (11-1, 6-11, 11-7, 11-9, 10-12, 11-9); Semifinals: Soumyajit Ghosh (PSPB) bt Sanil Shetty (PSPB) 4-0 (11-8, 11-6, 11-7, 12-10), G. Sathiyan (PSPB) bt Sarthak Gandhi (FCI) 11-8, 8-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-7).

Doubles (Final): G. Sathiyan/Sourav Saha (PSPB) bt Soumyajit Ghosh/Harmeet Desai (PSPB) 3-0 (11-7, 11-9, 11-9).

Women (Final): Poulomi Ghatak (PSPB) bt Pooja Sahasrabudhe (PSPB) 4-2 (12-10, 9-11, 11-9, 13-11, 8-11, 11-8); Semifinals: Pooja Sahasrabudhe (PSPB) bt Mousumi Paul (PSPB) 4-2 (11-8, 9-11, 7-11, 11-3, 14-12, 11-6), Poulomi Ghatak (PSPB) bt Madhurika Patkar (RSPB) 4-3 (2-11, 12-10, 11-13, 5-11, 11-3, 11-6, 11-3).

Doubles (Final): Nikhat Bhanu/Kritwikka Sinha Roy (AAI) bt Reeth Rishya/Narasimha Priya (PSPB) 3-0 (1107, 11-8, 11-9).

A TTFI Press release

Sathiyan on a roll; Ankita, Desai upset

New Delhi, August 21, 2014: The Petroleum Sports Promotion Board’s G. Sathiyan was on a roll in the AAI 44th Inter-Institutional Table Tennis Championships being played here at the Tyagraj Stadium. Picking up from where he left off in the second round on Wednesday night against RSPB’s G. Vinod, he made a smooth entry into the semifinals, beating PSPB rival Lalrin Puia 4-0.

Continuing the trend, three other PSPB paddlers joined Sathiyan in the semifinals as national champion Sanil Shetty accounted for Sourav Saha 4-1 and Soumyajit Ghosh downed teammate Subhajit Saha 4-2. But the surprise pack was FCI’s Sarthak Gandhi who stopped the LIC’s juggernaut L. Sathishwaran 4-1 to make his maiden semifinals.

The Ghosh-Subhajit Saha quarterfinals threw up some interesting moments with the former national champion struggling a bit. Yet, Subhajit could not measure up to his rival when it came to winning crucial points. Moreover, he made quite a few unforced errors at the net and also in his backhand execution, his Achilles’ heel. Ghosh, who never misses such glaring weak points in his rival, attacked relentlessly to win the crucial fourth game after being 8-9. Though he lost to Subhajit the next game, he was up to the task in the sixth to wind up things in his favour.

Sarthak Gandhi, who had an excellent outing so far, was meeting L. Sathishwaran in the quarterfinals. It could have been a touch and go affair, but the LIC lad failed to give his cent percent as he did in earlier rounds. This only helped Gandhi’s cause who lost just one game after leading comfortably at 2-0. He soon arrested the slide and finished off in style.

As for Sathiyan, he had a wonderful outing in the pre-quarters and keeping the good form mowed down Lalarin Puia, who was no match to Sathiyan on the day.

Mousumi Paul double quickly finished her job of routing veteran Anindita Chakraborty with a 4-0 verdict with little resistance coming from the Railway woman. As for Reeth Rishya, she had everything working for her, leading 2-0 and 6-2 in the third game. Pooja just changed gear and attacked on both flanks and took the game at 12-10. From there, her fortunes changed and she never relaxed her grip over the quarterfinals thereafter.  

Madhurika Patkar too did not face any difficulty, except for the one game she lost after her 1-0, but was clever enough to keep her PSPB opponent Mouma Das engaged which paid rich dividends. She won the next three games with least points to wrap it up 4-1. But the tricky Poulomi Ghatak, playing to her strength, indulged in keeping her colleague Neha Aggarwal to win 4-2. Ghatak began badly but pulled up her socks to outwit young Neha.  

Earlier in the day, top women’s seed Ankita Das, No. 5 seed Manika Batra and, more shockingly, No. 2 men’s seed Harmeet Desai bowed out in the pre-quarterfinals. The 40-plus Anindita Chakraborty of Railways rolled over promising youngster Kritwikka Sinha Roy from AAI in straight games to enter the quarters.

PSPB’s Ankita Das and Manika Batra were scratchy and it was reflecting in their matches. But more credit should be given to both Mousumi Paul and Reeth Rishya, also from the PSPB, for the way they exposed their opponents’ chinks.

Ankita never had a chance after being 0-3 down though she just about managed to take a game off her rival before Mousumi closed in on her with a blistering forehand to the edge of the table to sew it up 11-7, 11-9, 11-9, 11-13, 11-7.  Manika, on the other hand, had a lot of troubles against Reeth who began on a wrong note but ended with a good one. After levelling score at 1-1 Reeth never looked back but for a brief period in the fifth extended game which she lost 11-13. She was, however, up to the task and won 7-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-5, 11-13, 11-8.

No doubt, Harmeet Desai was not in his elements, but it was the way unseeded L. Sathishwaran from LIC played that unsettled the No. 2 seed. Having proved his worth in earlier rounds and playing extended games, the LIC paddler upped the ante when it mattered in the last three games to win 4-11, 11-7, 5-11, 8-11, 11-4, 11-1, 11-6. L. Sathishwaran totally dominated over his rival that he allowed just a point in the sixth game to take it to the decider.

Results:

Men (QF): G. Sathiyan (PSPB) bt Lalrin Puia (PSPB) 4-0 (11-9, 11-3, 11-7, 11-3), Sanil Shetty (PSPB) bt Sourav Saha (PSPB) 4-1 (11-7, 11-8, 11-6, 9-11, 11-6), Soumyajit Ghosh (PSPB) bt Subhajit Saha (PSPB) 4-2 (11-5, 11-5, 5-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-6; Sarthak Gandhi (FCI) bt L. Sathishwaran (LIC) 11-3, 14-12, 8-11, 11-9, 11-7.

Women (QF): Mousumi Paul (PSPB) bt Anindita Chakraborti (RSPB) 4-0 (11-2, 11-5, 11-8, 11-3), Pooja Sahasrabudhe (PSPB) bt Reeth Rishya (PSPB) 4-2 (7-11, 5-11, 12-10, 11-1, 11-8, 11-7), Poulomi Ghatak (PSPB) bt Neha Aggarwal (PSPB) 4-2 (7-11, 11-9, 11-7, 5-11, 11-6, 11-6), Madhurika Patkar (PSPB) bt Mouma Das (PSPB) 4-1 (11-3, 9-11, 11-5, 11-9, 11-9).

Smooth passage for seeded players

New Delhi, August 20, 2014: The Petroleum Sports Promotion Board’s Sudhanshu Grover, Air India’s Mallika Bhandarkar and Airports Authority of India’s Ayhika Mukherjee were the three prominent and upcoming paddlers who failed to make the cut for the main draw in the AAI 44th Inter-Institutional Table Tennis Championships being played here at the Tyagraj Stadium today.

But for these upsets in group stages, all top players participating in the season opener made their forays smoothly. The men, with 56 players in the draw, will play two rounds on Wednesday while the women, with 32 in fray, will have a round less. With the pre-quarterfinals in both sections beginning from tomorrow, the race to the title chase will get intensified.

Out of the two Glasgow CWG medallists from India, only Anthony Amalraj had turned up for the team event here as A. Sharath Kamal had chosen to give a miss to the championships. But Amalraj, after making an appearance on the opening day, had pulled out owing to fever. Until the main draw, there were doubts about his participation in the singles event. But with the draw out, it has become clear that he will no longer be participating in the championships.

National champions Sanil Shetty and Ankita Das have rightfully earned the No. 1 spots in the men and women’s singles seeding lists. Harmeet Desai, with his runner-up position at the Patna Nationals, is seeded behind Shetty while G. Sathiyan has jumped several spots to be at No. 3. Soumyajit Ghosh, who had a mixed bag, missing quite a few zonals, last season finds himself seeded at No. 4.

But with a reasonably good showing here so far, he gets a chance to go up the ladder and can even be expected to surprise some of the top seeds. In any case, Amalraj’s absence should boost the chances of Ghosh as well as other paddlers.

Madhurika Patkar is No. 2 seed while veteran Poulomi Ghatak despite an indifferent form, has been seeded behind Patkar. Pooja Sahasrabudhe and Manika Batra are behind Poulomi at No. 4 and 5. The women’s draw seems a good one with no player getting a first-round bye which makes the contest even and interesting.

Unlike in the women’s section, top eight players have been given a first-round bye. But all players will be getting engaged from round two, to be played later tonight.

Top women’s doubles pair of Madhurika Patkar and Pooja Sahasrabudhe has entered the quarterfinal beating AAI’s Anuska Dutta and Oishwarya Deb 3-0. Another pair from PSPB—Soumi Mondal and Mousumi Paul—had an easy passage while the other pairs were extended the full distance.

In the mixed event, the husband and wife duo Subhajit Saha and Nandita Saha will take on in the final Jubin Kumar (Haryana) and Neha Aggarwal (PSPB) tomorrow evening. The Sahas defeated the RSPB pair of G. Vinod and Shreya Ghosh 11-7, 11-9, 11-8 while Jubin and Neha accounted for AAI’s Sushmit Sriram and Nikhat Bhanu 8-11, 14-12, 12-10, 12-10 in a duel that lasted almost one hour.

TTFI Press release

PSPB men, women extend hold over team trophies

New Delhi, August 19, 2014: It is the Petroleum Sports Control Board (PSPB) that emerged victorious yet again. Both their men’s and women’s teams extended their reign over the two trophies for the nth time, without any threats—not even a perceived one—beating the Railways men and the Airports Authority of India women by an identical 3-0 margin in the AAI 44th Inter-Institutional Table Tennis Championships being played here at the Tyagraj Stadium.

The verdicts, along the expected lines, must have given real headaches to some of the teams in fray, for they may be sick and tired of going over the exercise of competing in the championships year after year, all in futility, and not seeing the silverwares coming their way even once.

For most teams, the team trophies have remained a pipedream and yet they religiously participate in the event. They need to put on the thinking caps and work their way out of a difficult situation to revive whatever little interests left in the championships.

The Soumyajit Ghosh-Sanil Shetty-Harmeet Desai blend did not need a second invitation to rout the Railway Sports Promotion Board as it went about its task clinically, demolishing one opponent after another to complete the job. Ghosh, unleashing a combination attack on both flanks, took 18 minutes flat to outwit Anirban Nandi, the most experienced Railways’ player, 11-6, 11-8, 11-9. Shetty, the national champion, conceded his second, hard-fought game to Souvik Kar, but came to grips soon after with his blistering forehand to outwit Souvik. And Desai, consumed very little time at the table to run over Noel Pinto for the 11-8, 11-3, 11-9 verdict.

PSPB team’s coach S.Ramaswamy was happy the way his team performed professionally. “I was a bit surprised that no opposition came from the Railways. But we were sure of retaining the trophy,” he said. On the other hand, RSPB coach Bona Thomas was more opt when he said that they had expected the team to reach final. “We know we will have a tough time against PSPB in the final. Our boys need to work more on fitness,” he said.

That, in a nutshell, summed up the chasm between PSPB teams and the rest.

So, it was not surprising that their women also played exactly the way a top-notch outfit would do. Barring the first game in which AAI’s Nikhat Bhanu began briskly and taking it 11-3, it was PSPB’s Madhurika Patkar all the way, stopping Bhanu on her tracks.

Ankita Das, too, lost a game to the promising Kritwikka Sinha Roy but the former proved to be way ahead with bagful of tricks—she played to her strength to win 11-8, 9-11, 12-10, 11-7. Former national champion Poulomi Ghatak, despite being rusty and losing her first extended game at 12-14, managed to put it across Amrutha Pushpak.

In the last edition at Dharwad, they had bagged two titles—the Youth Boys and Youth Girls—but as hosts they had nothing this time around. This must be really hurting them. Nevertheless, AAI can take heart from the fact that the three girls in the team final had managed to take a game each off their better known opponents.

Dignitaries from AAI and TTFI gave away the medals to the winners.

Results (team finals):

Men: Petroleum Sports Promotion Board bt Railway Sports Promotion Board 3-0 (Soumyajit Ghosh bt Anirban Nandi 11-6, 11-8, 119, Sanil Shetty bt Souvik Kar 11-4, 12-14, 11-8, 11-7, Harmeet Desai bt Noel Pinto 11-8, 11-3, 119).

Women: Petroleum Sports Promotion Board bt Airports Authority of India 3-0 (Madhurika Patkar bt Nikhat Bhanu 3-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-8, Ankita Das bt Kritwikka Sinha Roy 11-8, 9-11, 12-10, 11-7, Poulomi Ghatak bt Amrutha Pushpak 12-14, 11-3, 13-11, 11-8.

PSPB, AAI women enter team finals

New Delhi, August 18, 2014: The Petroleum Sports Control Board (PSPB), both in the men and women’s sections, were just a step away from retaining their hold on the team trophies in the AAI 44th Inter-Institutional Table Tennis Championships being played here at the Tyagraj Stadium.

On Monday, PSPB’s men disposed of Central Revenue Sports Control Board (CRSCB) 3-0 in the first semifinal while in the second, the Railways huffed and puffed before beating AAI 3-2. PSPB women, taking the cue from their men counterparts, didn’t waste any time to mow down Air India for a similar verdict. The other semifinal saw hosts Airports Authority of India landing smoothly in the final with a 3-0 win over Railway Sports Promotion Board. Both the finals are slated for tomorrow afternoon.

In fact, the PSPB men and women didn’t have any opposition at all. Their bench strength in the two sections are so strong that they could ever experiment with it. For instance, G. Sathiyan was given a chance in the semifinals over a higher-ranked Harmeet Desai while the latter was played in the quarterfinals. So was the case on the distaff side that Poulomi played the quarterfinals while Pooja Sahasrabudhe got her chance in the semifinals.

Their strategy for the finals, particularly in the women’s category, may see a steady line-up with AAI beckoning at them. As for their men, they have the luxury to choose from the Shetty-Ghosh-Desai-Amalraj-Sathiyan blend, though Amalraj, who is down with fever, is a doubtful case. Whatever combination they might try out tomorrow, PSPB will see to it they retain both the titles.

But the hosts would wish to win at least the women’s crown, having lost their chance to retain the Youth Boys and Youth Girls titles, as PSPB became the rightful claimants after finishing top in their respective sections in the round-robin format. Thus they qualify directly for the Junior and Youth Nationals to be conducted at Alleppey in December. Air India’s Youth Boys and Girls finished second behind them.

If the PSPB men had a smooth passage into the final, the Railways had the now-start-now-stop journey with AAI taking the match the full distance. Everything was depended on Anirban Nandi who did not disappoint his employers. Nandi began well to close it on Nitin Thiruvengdam and win 3-1. Prabhakaran Ekambaram did justice to his inclusion in the team by posting a 3-1 victory over an experienced Sushmit Sriram.

That must have given enough confidence in the RSPB ranks, but both their third player Noel Pinto and Prabhakaran, playing his reverse singles, lost the advantage. This put a lot of burden on Nandi but the veteran kept his nerves intact to dismiss the challenge from Sriram, who surprisingly, lost both his singles.

Earlier, strengthened by the return of Nikhat Bhanu, who lost her grandmother on the eve of the championships, AAI posted a cozy triumph over RSPB in the semifinals. With Nikhat, Krittiwikka Sinha Roy and Amrutha Pushpak playing strong, the hosts should be fancying their chance against a strong PSPB in the final tomorrow.     

Results: Men (semifinals): PSPB bt CRSCB 3-0 (Soumyajit Ghosh bt Devesh Karia 10-12, 11-7, 11-2, 11-8, G. Sathiyan bt Sayan Paul Roy 11-2, 11-8, 11-9, Sanil Shetty bt Eric Nestor 11-9, 11-4, 11-6), RSPB bt AAI 3-2 (Anirban Nandi bt Nitin Thiruvengadam 15-13, 5-11, 11-5, 11-6, Prabhakaran E. bt Sushmit Sriram 11-7, 5-11, 11-7, 11-3, Noel Pinto lost to Sabhay Virmani 6-11, 11-1, 11-8, 5-11, 8-11, Prabhakaran E. lost to Nitin Thiruvengadam 13-11, 7-11, 11-8, 5-11, 8-11, Anirban Nandi bt Sushmit Sriram 11-9, 11-8, 11-5); Quarterfinals: PSPB bt ESIC 3-0 (Sanil Shetty 11-4, 11-4, 4-11, 11-5, Harmeet Desai bt Daramrajsinh Rana 11-9, 11-7, 11-5, G. Sathiyan bt Vikram Aditya 11-6, 11-5, 11-5), CRSCB bt Air India 3-1 (Devesh Karia bt Chinmay Datar 11-8, 11-7, 11-8, Sayan Paul Roy bt Nishaad Shah 7-11, 11-6, 11-4, 11-7, Hardik Bhatt lost to Sanish Ambekar 11-8, 8-11, 9-11, 6-11, Devesh Karia bt Nishaad Shah 6-11, 11-8, 11-9, 9-11, 11-3), AAI bt FCI 3-1 (Nitin Thiruvengadam bt Sameera Kumar 11-9, 4-11, 11-5, 11-9, Sabhay Virmani bt Sivananda Seshadri 11-2, 11-9, 9-11, 11-6, Nitin Thiruvengadam bt Sarthak Gandhi 11-5, 5-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-8), RSPB bt LIC 3-1 (Souvik Kar bt Sougata Sarkar 7-11, 6-11  9-11, Prabhakaran.E bt Sathiswaran.L 10-12, 11-3, 11-2, 11-8, Anirban Nandi bt Ravi Joshi 8-11, 11-6, 12-10 5-11, 11-6, Prabharakan E bt Sougata Sarkar 11-9, 11-8, 5-11, 11-7).

Women (semifinals): PSPB bt Air India 3-0 (Madhurika Patkar bt Devika Bhide 11-8, 11-7, 9-11, 11-6, Ankita Das bt Mallika Bhandarkar 11-4, 11-6, 11-4, Pooja Sahasrabudhe bt Vedika Garg 11-4, 11-7, 11-6, AAI bt RSPB 3-0 (Nikhat Bhanu bt Anindita Chakraborty 11-7, 15-17, 11-8, 11-9, Kritwikka Sinha Roy bt Takeme Sarkar 11-7, 11-5, 11-5, Amrutha Pushpak bt Rupsa Bhattcharya 11-8, 11-7, 11-5); Quarterfinals: PSPB bt Dena Bank 3-0 (Madhurika Patkar bt Frenaz Chipia 14-12, 11-7, 11-8, Ankita Das bt Krithicka. S 11-9, 9-11, 11-4, 11-4, Poulomi Ghatak bt Monica Manohar 11-9, 11-4, 11-6), Air India bt Indian Audit 3-1 (Vedika Garg lost to Sayantika Kundu 10-12, 8-11, 8-11, Mallika Bhandarkar bt Manisha Sharma 11-5, 11-3, 11-6, Devika Bhide bt Nikita Rautela 11-9, 6-11, 11-9, 11-6, Mallika Bhandarkar bt Sayantika Kundu 11-8, 11-6, 11-6), RSPB bt LIC 3-2 ( Takeme Sarkar bt Mrunmayee Mhatre 11-8, 11-8, 10-12, 11-8, Sukanya Bose lost to Prajakta Tipale 9-11  6-11, 12-10, 9-11, Pallabi Kundu bt Shruti Talnikar 11-6, 11-9, 11-9, Takeme Sarkar lost to Prajakta Tipale 6-11, 8-11, 11-5, 10-12, Sukanya Bose bt Mrunmayee Mhatre 11-9, 11-8, 11-6), AAI bt CRSCB 3-0 (Kritwikka Sinha Roy bt Praneetha Challa 5-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-2, Nikhat Bhanu bt Jaita Pushilal 11-7, 11-7, 12-10, Amrutha Pushpak bt Silpa Basak 11-3, 9-11, 11-4, 11-2).

TTFI Press release

Anindita does a star turn for RSPB

New Delhi, August 17, 2014: Dena Bank, with a young team, put up a fantastic show and almost derailed the plans of Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) of retaining their top perch in Group B in the AAI 44th Inter-Institutional Table Tennis Championships at the Thyagraj Stadium here today. But the old warhorse Anindita Chakraborty, holding on bravely, put paid to the ambitions of Dena Bank, who lost 2-3. They should, however, be finishing behind RSPB in the group to qualify for the second stage of the event.

Otherwise, things went according to the script as all other group toppers went through their motions to keep their No. 1 position in their respective groups. Title holders PSPB beat Central Revenue Board 3-0 and got a walkover from Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited to move into the second stage, which is a knockout. Simialrly, hosts Airports Authority of India (AAI) scored an identical 3-0 triumphs over RBI and Indian Audit, Air India beat ESIC 3-0 and then downed LIC 3-1 to qualify.

As for men, PSPB, RSPB, AAI, Air India, Indian Audit and Central Revenue have held on to the top position in their respective groups after two rounds. Except for the top teams like PSPB, RSPB and AAI, who are expected to keep their No. 1 position in their groups, the rest may retain their positions or swap places depending on their performances in the third round matches which are slated to begin later this evening. Going by their display so far, they should all be joining the big teams in Stage 2.

Coming back to the match of the day in the women’s section, Dena Bank held a 2-1 advantage under Anindata Chakraborty entered the scene for her reverse singles. Taking on Krithicka Sivaramakrishan, who is a youth player, Anindita played ball with her opponent. It was a touch and go affair until the fourth as both players had taken the alternative games to make it 2-2. However, in the decider the veteran showed her true colours, keeping the ball on the table and forcing Krithica into errors. Taking an early lead and firm grip, the Railways veteran shut out the Dena Bank player from Tamil Nadu for a 6-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-6, 11-6 win.

This must have given enough confidence for Sukanya Bose, who earlier lost to Krithica, to take on Frenaz Chipia, who had lost her first rubber to Anindita 3-2. Nevertheless, Frenaz put up a good fight in the second game before losing steam as Bose went about finishing the task methodically.

In fact, between the two both Railways and Dena Bank played out 24 games, taking almost two hours to complete the task.

The day also witnessed another good game between Air India and Food Corporation of India in the men’s section. Despite having players like Sarthak Gandhi and Sivananda Seshadri, FCI folded up to the guiles of Air India’s Nishaad Shah, Sanish Ambekar, who won the third singles, and Chinmay Datar clinching the reverse fifth rubber against Seshadari 3-1. He had earlier lost to Nishaad Shah 3-0 which in the ultimate analysis proved costly.

With five teams figuring in both the Youth Boys and Youth Girls, clear pictures will emerge only after the round-robin league matches get over tomorrow.  Earlier, the championships were inaugurated by Dr Prabhat Kumar, IAS, Director General, Civil Aviation followed by a cultural programme.

A TTFI Press release