Ghosh regains title, high-fives for Mouma

Pudhucherry, January 17, 2015: Soumyajit Ghosh defeated top-seed G. Sathiyan 4-2 to regain the men’s singles crown for the second time while top-seed Mouma Das downed Poulami Ghatak, also by the same margin, for her fifth women’s singles title at the 76th Senior Nationals at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium here today.

Ghosh took home Rs. 2 lakh and Mouma, who was taking on Poulami for the fourth time since their first final appearance in 1998 at Ajmer, received Rs. 1.40 lakh. The runners-up in both section got half the amount as their prize money.

Ghosh, who first won the title at Raipur two years ago, had to prove a point to himself rather than his critics. And today, he showed it by beating the top seed. No doubt, Sathiyan was in a great form this season and things were even going well for him until the semifinals. But in the final, Ghosh was not only superb but also came into his attacking self.

With a comfortable 3-1 cushion, Sathiyan was playing into Ghosh’s hands and the latter had to simply keep the ball on the table. In fact, that was he did with perfect placing and good, aggressive backhand winners. A rattled Sathiyan, however hard he tried, could not come to his own terms and surrendered to the guiles of Ghosh.   

5 out of 10 for Mouma

Ten final appearances and five national titles are not bad at all. And Mouma, who has been rewarded for her perseverance and longevity, was a deserving winner on the day. Any new comer would have thrown in the towel after being 0-2 down, but Mouma always thrived on challenges. Launching her attack from the third game, the 32-year-old played true to her potential and outwitted Poulami Ghatak with clean execution of shots from both flanks and top-spin backhand serves.

Poulami, in spite of her ability to come back any time, was somewhat hampered by Mouma’s tactics and was committing far too many mistakes. Once Mouma equalized, it was always going to be difficult for Poulami to beat her opponent, known for her steely nerves.

Except for one semifinal each in the men and women’s sections, the two others were totally one-sided. If Sathiyan, in a roaring form this season, made mincemeat of Harmeet Desai with an outright 4-0 victory, six-time national champion Poulami Ghatat was equally severe on young Ankita Das. The reigning champion from Siliguri was out of depths and it was visible in her semifinal match against Poulami.

Unlike these two semifinals, the one between Soumyajit Ghosh and surprise package Raj Mondal had all the thrilling moments. In fact, the match seemed going only one way as Mondal was raised his game against the former national champion, going 3-1 up. But Ghosh’s fighting qualities stood him in good stead as he came back nicely to take the last three games.

In fact, Mondal had a very good chance in the sixth game but he only managed to stretch Ghosh a bit before the latter levelled the score.  Having done that, Ghosh played a cool game to sew up the decider, much to the disappointment of Mondal, who will rue the missed chance, after making his maiden semifinals appearance. He was, probably, guilty of not keeping the initial attacking posture, instead preferring to slow down midway through.

Mouma, as usual, played her sizing up game before upping the ante to go 2-1 up. Shamini, who showed her true grit in the pre-quarterfinals against Mousumi Paul, was patchy in the semifinals. Mouma, on the other hand, kept the momentum going her way, despite losing a game or two in between, to set up the fourth final against Poulami.

Results:

Men’s Singles: Final: Soumyajit Ghosh (PSPB) bt G. Sathiyan (PSPB) 4-2 (11-7, 9-11, 11-3, 13-11, 13-15, 11-9); Semifinals: G. Sathiyan (PSPB) bt Harmeet Desai (PSPB) 4-0 (11-9, 11-8, 11-7, 11-5), Soumyajit Ghosh (PSPB) bt Raj Mondal (RBI) 4-3 (8-11, 11-5, 4-11, 4-11, 11-4, 12-10, 11-8).

Doubles: Final: Sanil Shetty/Anthony Amalraj (PSPB) bt Jubin Kumar/Sourav Chakraborty (Har) 3-1 (11-8, 7-11, 11-6, 11-7).

Women’s Singles: Final: Mouma Das (PSPB) bt Poulami Ghatak (PSPB) 4-2 (7-11, 7-11, 11-3, 14-12, 11-7, 11-6); Semifinals: Mouma Das (PSPB) bt K. Shamini (PSPB) 4-3 (7-11, 13-11, 11-7, 8-11, 11-6, 6-11, 11-5), Poulami Ghatak (PSPB) bt Ankita Das (PSPB) 4-1 (11-1, 11-9, 7-11, 11-3, 11-1).

Doubles: Final: Mouma Das/K. Shamini (PSPB) bt Mallika Bhandarkar/Vedika Garga (Mah-B) 3-0 (11-8, 11-3, 11-5).

Mixed Doubles: Final: Raj Mondal/Krittwika Sinha Roy (RBI) bt Sourav Saha/Mousumi Paul (WB) 3-1 (7-11, 11-2, 11-1, 11-7). 

A TTFI Press release

Two-year ban and fine slapped on 3 Bengal paddlers; All titles and other benefits to be withdrawn

Pudhucherry, January 17, 2015: Bengal’s Oishwarya Deb, Suthirtha Mukherjee and Priyadarshni Das have been slapped with a two-year ban and a fine of Rs. 25,000 each for misrepresenting their age. The three players, who are already under suspension, will face the ban until January 2016 nationals.

Additionally, the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) will also be writing to their employers to take appropriate action besides the national federation stripping them of all their national and international titles.

This, along with other decisions, was taken at the Executive Board meeting held here today. The crucial meeting was attended by 10 of the 12 members. A day earlier, the disciplinary committee met here to suggest the quantum of punishment to the errant players.  

The action by TTFI follows a severe indictment by the CBI’s Sports Integrity Cell which probed into the age-fraud cases of several paddlers. The CBI’s probe panel has found the three players to be guilty of serious violations.

Addressing media persons at the end of the EB meeting, TTFI president Prabhat C. Chaturvedi, said the case a fourth paddler from Bengal, Ayhika Mukherjee, was also probed by the Sports Integrity Cell but it found the player not deriving any benefit unlike the other three. “Ayhika, too, had two dates of birth certificate but she was competing in the right age-group events and was not found to have taken any advantage by the probe panel. Accordingly, we let her off with this season’s ban (one-year) and no fine was imposed on her.”

In other words, Ayhika Mukherjee, who was already under suspension, will be eligible to play from next season, beginning August 2015.

Chaturvedi also said the TTFI clean-up drive has yielded good results with 24 North Bengal, 20 West Bengal and a few Assam paddlers coming forward and voluntarily disclosing their correct dates of birth. “We had introduced an amnesty clause under which all those players admitting their follies and declaring correct dates of birth will be punished with the withdrawal of titles, if any, while allowing them to play from next season. The committee viewed them sympathetically and considered this action was sufficiently,” added the TTFI chief.

He, however, warned that with the deadline for voluntary disclosure having come to end on November 25, 2014, any player found to be having more than one date of birth certificate will face two-year ban and withdrawal of all titles.

In order to tighten the screw on such future age-fraud cases, the TTFI will impose a two-year ban with a fine of Rs. 50,000, said Chaturvedi.

The TTFI president also said that the national federation will be making some amendments to its guidelines on registration of birth certificate as per the 1969 Act (registration of birth). “This was a suggestion came from the Sports Integrity Cell and accordingly it is proposed to amend our guidelines on the issue. We would insist on players that have registered his or her birth date one year after, should obtain a judicial order from the First Class Magistrate,” he said.

TTFI Press release

Jubin sends Shetty packing; Sushmit accounts for Amalraj

Pudhucherry, January 16, 2015: Top-seed Mouma Das overcame RBI’s Krittwika Sinha Roy 4-2 to enter the semifinals, while No. 7 Ankita Das upset No. 2 seed Pooja Sahasrabudhe by the same margin the 76th Senior Nationals at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium here today. But it was rather easy for K. Shamini who accomplished a clinical 4-0 victory over Manika Batra. In the first semifinal tomorrow, Mouma will take on Shamini while Ankita will meet Poulami Ghatak, who downed Neha Aggarwal 4-2, in the other semifinal.

It was a 4-0 verdict in three of men’s quarterfinals, with No. 1 seed G. Sathiyan beating Tamil Nadu’s Nitin Thiruvengadam, Harmeet Desai downed Soumyadeep Roy and Soumyajit Ghosh disposing of Haryana’s Jubin Kumar. In the last quarterfinal, however, giant killer Raj Mondal from RBI accounted for sixth-seed Abhishek Yadav 4-1.

But the biggest news of the day was Haryana’s Jubin Kumar sending reigning national champion and No. 3 seed Sanil Shetty packing in the men’s singles pre-quarterfinals. Jubin won 4-3 (7-11, 9-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-9, 11-8). No. 2 seed Devesh Karia of Gujarat, who had a wonderful outing this season, also fell by the wayside, losing to qualifier Raj Mondal from West Bengal who beat him 4-1.

Earlier, another former national champion Anthony Amalraj bowed out in the second round of the main draw, losing to eighth seed Sushmit Srirarm, after comfortably leading 3-1. Sriram also won 4-3 (11-9, 7-11, 7-11, 8-11, 11-9, 14-12, 11-8).

In women’s pre-quarterfinals, all but fifth and sixth seeded paddlers went out of reckoning. Both No. 5 and No. 6 seeds, Mousumi Paul, who gave a scare to former national champion K. Shamini, lost 3-4 and No. 6 Madhurika Patkar went down to unseeded Nehal Aggarwal 3-4.

Of all the upsets on the day, Sanil Shetty’s must hurt the Petroleum player the most as he was not only having a smooth ride but was even expected to defend the title he won at Patna last year. What befell on him, no one knows, including the attacking and stylish left-hander himself. But the credit must go to Jubin for his perseverance and change of game plan from the fourth game.

Woefully out of the match and down 0-3, the Haryana lad played a mesmerizing game—superbly working on the angles and catching Shetty on his somewhat weak forehand and often forcing him into errors. In fact, Shetty kept pushing Jubin away from the table and it worked well for him in the first three games. The match-point shot, a curving-in forehand exemplified Jubin’s fantastic play.

However, no one would have thought reversals for Shetty as he had a very good rhythm going right from the word go. Yet, Jubin was up to his opponent and played his forehand and backhand with equal felicity.

Receiving well, the Haryana southpaw took three sets to realize his folly. Timely advice from team mate Mohit Verma brought about the change as one could see his slowing down the game. Unable to cope with the slowness, Shetty faulted even on his reliable forehand shots and, cashing in on his mistakes, Jubin kept progressing.

Having accomplished the first task of restoring parity, he had an open mind going into the decider. Shetty had an early advantage but the Haryana lad nullified it quickly and kept himself well ahead of his rival. Shetty, however hard he tried, could not do much against a vigilant Jubin.

“He was attacking well and I needed to slow him down since I was able to receive him well,” said Jubin after the match. “I am happy I forced him into his forehand shots where he was fumbling a bit today.”

Earlier in the day, one witnessed yet another show of grit and courage as No. 8 seed Sushmit Sriram pulled out what was a fine upset against Amalraj. Though the former national champion was not seeded here—he had to play the qualifiers to get into the main draw—he was expected to get over the line against the Tamil Nadu boy. Sushmit, having sized up his rival and serving well, kept Amalraj on tenterhooks. It forced a visibly upset Amalraj into more errors and only helped the Tamil Nadu boys’ cause.

Sathiyan warned

Even No. 1 seed G. Sathiyan struggle to get past a disciplined West Bengal’s Sougata Sarkar 11-7, 8-11, 9-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-6. The match, played at the show court, also saw some unpleasant exchanges between chair umpire and Sathiyan, who had to be yellow-carded for his misbehaviour. Luckily for Sathiyan, the umpire should have red-carded him for questioning his authority on calling a ‘let’.

    

Results:

Men’s Singles (Quarterfinals): G. Sathiyan (PSPB) bt Nitin Thiruvengadam 4-0 ( 11-3, 11-4, 11-4, 11-8), Harmeet Desai (PSPB) bt Soumyadeep Roy (PSPB) 4-0 (12-10, 11-6, 11-4, 11-9), Soumyajit Ghosh (PSPB) bt Jibin Kumar (Har) 11-7, 11-9, 14-12, 11-5), Raj Mondal (RBI) bt Abhishek Yadav (Raj) 4-1 (5-11, 11-9, 14-12, 11-9, 11-8).  

Women Singles (Quarterfinals): Mouma Das (PSPB) bt Krittwika Sinha Roy (RBI) 4-2 (12-10, 11-2, 14-16, 11-6, 10-12, 14-12), K. Shamini (PSPB) bt Manika Batra (PSPB) 4-0 (11-5, 11-0, 11-3, 11-7), Poulami Ghatak (PSPB) bt Neha Aggarwal (Del) 4-2 (11-7, 9-11, 6-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-6), Ankita Das (PSPB) bt Pooja Sahasrabudhe (Mah-A) 4-2 (11-9, 11-5, 11-8, 6-11, 10-12, 11-8).

A TTFI Press release

Sathiyan, Mouma are top seeds; Karia makes quantum jump

Pudhucherry, January 15, 2015: Petroleum Sports Promotion Board’s G. Sathiyan has been given the pride of place when men’s singles seeding list was finalized for the 76th Senior Nationals, being conducted here at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium here today.

Gujarat’s Devesh Karia occupies the No. 2 position on the list with reigning national champion, Sanil Shetty, pushed to the No. 3 spot. Even more pathetic was the case of runner-up Harmeet Desai, who doesn’t even figure among the top-16.

In fact, he, along with former national champion Anthony Amalraj had to play the qualifiers here to make it to the main draw. All these were because they had given preference to playing abroad in various leagues, skipping the domestic national ranking events. Both Amalraj and Desai have, however, made it to the main draw after emerging leader in groups 11 and group 35, respectively.

Sathiyan, with two domestic back-to-back titles to his name, has 360 points to take the top perch in the ranking list and thus the top-seeding for the senior nationals here. He won both the West and East Zone championships at Gandhidham and Durgapur last year. Closely on his heels was Devesh Karia, who beat Sathiyan at Indore’s Central Zone event and Abhishek Yadav at Agra in the North Zone championships, with 225 points. Karia had been in a roaring form and he was instrumental in taking Gujarat to the semifinals in team events.

Shetty, who had a moderate domestic season, has still managed to log 165 points to keep the No. 3 position in the seeding list, while Lalrin Puia of Mizoram was just behind him at No. 4 with 10 points less.  Rajasthan’s Yadav, with his reasonable outing this season and with a runner-up position in at Agra, was seeded No. 5 and another former national champion, Soumyajit Ghosh, with 140 points—he has not won a single title this year—has managed to be among top eight. He is placed at No. 7 with Tamil Nadu’s Sushmit Sriram following him at No. 8 to complete the seeding list for the nationals.

However, one unfortunate thing is that Achanta Sharath Kamal, who had ruled the Indian table tennis for quite a number of years and a regular phenomenon at the senior national championships, does not have a single point as he has not appeared in any national ranking event, nor the nationals here owing to his club engagements.

The case was more or less the same with Amalraj who too, like Sharath and Harmeet, gave a skip to the domestic events and preferred playing leagues abroad.   

At the end of the group engagements, 59 paddlers have qualified for the main draw which will be of 64 players—six of the group qualifiers will play another qualifying round to make the main draw cut. With no byes offered all the seeded players will be seen in action in the first round of the main draw which begins later tonight.

Mouma top-seed

Thirty-two-year-old Mouma Das has earned herself the top-seed position well ahead of the young lot, including national title holder Ankita Das, who has been pushed to No. 7 spot, following her inconsistent performance this season. In fact, Maharashtra’s Pooja Sahasrabudhe is seeded at No. 2 and former national champion Poulami Ghatak at No. 3. Manika Batra, who had a mixed bag of a season, has managed to be the No. 4 but West Bengal’s Mousumi Paul, at No.5, has made a quantum jump. Madhurika Patkar, too, has done anything remarkable throughtout the season and it is reflected at her No. 6 seed while AAI’s Krittwika Sinha Roy is at the No. 8 slot of the seeding list.

The biggest loser, however, was Suthirtha Mukherjee. The West Bengal girl, despite her two back-to-back titles this year, was not eligible to participate in the senior nationals here following her suspension by the TTFI on age related issue.

Unlike the men’s main draw, the top-four seeded women will get byes in first round matches, slated for tonight, and will join the fray only from tomorrow. 

A TTFI Press release

Petroleum’s stock rises, despite drop in crude oil prices

Pudhucherry, January 14: The Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) extended their reigns for yet another year as their men lifted the Barna Ballack Cup and their women the Jayalakshmi Cup in the 76th Senior Nationals at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium here today. In both the team finals, PSPB had a common opponent in West Bengal with identical 3-0 verdicts.

Today’s triumphs, apart from reconfirming—if any confirmation was needed—PSPB’s supremacy, also showed the amount of groundwork every other team has to do to raise itself to a level and pose any real threat to them in the future. It may not happen until PSPB decides to stop offering lucrative scholarships to potential winners or discontinue the practice of recruiting top players!

For the moment, however, no one can take the credit away from the PSPB paddlers. Soumyajit Ghosh was in some sort of a discomfort against a fighting Sougata Sarkar, but the latter could only stretch him in every game in the first rubber. Sarkar, not afraid to attack, replied in the same vein executing his forehands and indulging in rallies. But he was committing mistakes at the net at crucial junctues, thus giving away negative points to his opponents.

As for Sathiyan, who has had a very good domestic season, was slow to start but had positioned himself well after that to account for Sourav Saha. Once Saha was tackled well by Sathiyan, as PSPB led 2-0, things became rather easy for Harmeet Deasi to put it beyond the reach of West Bengal. Desai simply toyed with young Surajit Sarkar.

Too much reliance on Mousumi Paul was the bane of West Bengal as PSPB’s women team—Ankita Das, K. Shamini and Manika Batra—just went about its task very clinically in the final. Except for Manika Batra, who conceded a game to her opponent Pallabi Kundu, both Ankita and Shaimi played as if they were playing against novices.

Redemption for WB

It was sort of a redemption time for West Bengal teams as both their men and women entered the finals. Their men made it simple and straightforward against Haryana, winning the semifinals 3-0 and their women’s team beat Airports Authority of India 3-1. The other semifinals winners were, of course, the reigning champions PSPB.

PSPB could have been pushed into some deeper trouble had Devesh Karia cashed in on his roaring form to beat national champion Sanil Shetty in his reverse match. Shetty provided the lead for PSPB but Karia equalized with fine performance against Soumyajit Ghosh to win the five-setter. Yet, PSPB had the upper hand when G. Sathiyan beat Jignesh Jaiswal. All eyes were once again on Karia who was taking on Shetty.

True to his reputation, Karia had everything going for him—he led 2-0 and 10-6 in the third game—until the third game where Shetty, known for his fighting qualities, staged a remarkable comeback to take the match and put the issue beyond Gujarat. The match saw fine rallies, excellent retrievals, good returns and edge-of-the-table shots from both left-handers.

West Bengal men, on the other hand, made it a one-sided affair as Jubin Kumar was rendered helpless on the day by the experienced Sourav Saha. Earlier when Sourav Chakraborty lost to Sougata Sarkar, it was curtains for Haryana as Sarthak Gandhi could not match the guiles of Surajit Das.

For the highly skillful West Bengal women, AAI were no match. Playing with the juniors, it was always going to be difficult and, in fact, it was a junior who managed to take a match off Shreya Ghosh. That was all AAI could do as Anandita Chakraborty and Mousumi Paul, their star paddler, took good care of the team’s interests. PSPB, in the other semifinal, gave very little chance to Maharashtra A, despite Madhurika Pantkar and Divya Deshpande stretching their rivals Ankita Das and Manika Batra the full distance.     

Results (team events):

Men: Final: PSPB bt West Bengal 3-0 (Soumyajit Ghosh bt Sougata Sarkar 13-11, 12-10, 14-12, G. Sathiyan bt Sourav Saha 9-11, 11-5, 11-1, 11-7, Harmeet Desaia bt Surajit Das 5-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-7); Semifinals: PSPB bt Gujarat 3-1 (Sanil Shetty bt Hardik Bhatt 11-7, 11-9, 11-5, Soumyajit Ghosh lost to Devesh Karia 8-11, 7-11, 11-5, 11-3, 8-11, G. Sathiyan bt Jignesh Jaiswal 11-7, 9-11, 11-7, 11-7, Sanil Shetty bt Devesh Karia 2-11, 13-11, 9-11, 12-10, 11-7), West Bengal bt Haryana 3-0 (Sougata Sarkar bt Sourav Chakraborty 11-5, 11-7, 11-7, Sourav Saha bt Jubin Kumar 11-9, 11-8, 12-10, Surajit Das bt Sarthak Gandhi 9-11, 13-11, 11-7, 9-11, 12-10).  

Women: Final: PSPB bt West Bengal 3-0 (Ankita Das bt Mousumi Paul 11-7, 11-6, 11-6, K. Shamini bt Anandita Chakraborty 11-6, 11-5, 15-13, Manika Batra bt Pallabi Kundu 4-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-5); Semifinals: PSPB bt Maharashtra A 3-0 (Ankita Das bt Madhurika Patkar 9-11, 11-3, 11-13, 11-8, 11-5, Mouma Das bt Pooja Sahasrabudhe 13-11, 13-11, 8-11, 11-5, Manika Batra bt Divya Deshpande 6-11, 11-7, 11-6, 5-11, 11-6), West Bengal bt Airports Authority of India 3-1 (Anandita Chakraborty bt Nikhat Banu 11-4, 11-6, 1-11, 12-10, Mousumi Paul bt Amrutha Pushpak 11-6, 6-11, 10-12, 12-10, 11-6, Shreya Ghosh lost to Sereha Jacob 10-12, 7-11, 12-10, 7-11, Mous8mi Paul bt Nikhat Banu 11-9, 8-11, 11-5, 2-11, 11-9).

A TTFI Press release

Spotlights on Haryana men and AAI women

Pudhucherry, January 13, 2015: Top-seeded Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) men and women’s teams posted identical 3-0 wins over Tamil Nadu and Delhi, respectively, to enter the semifinals of the 76th Senior Nationals, which began at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium here today.

But the spotlights fell on both Haryana men, who beat Maharashtra ‘A’ 3-1 and Airports Authority of India (AAI) women who downed Tamil Nadu 3-1.  

Haryana, no doubt, had to depend on the experience of Sourav Chakraborty who won both his singles, but it was Sarthak Gandhi’s third singles triumph that gave Haryana the edge over Maharashtra. Though Jubin Kumar, their main player’s loss to Aman Balgu did not matter in the end as Chakraborty made amends by beating Balgu in his reverse singles.

In the last quarterfinal, West Bengal overcame a stiff Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) to win 3-1 and earn the right to take on Haryana in the semifinals. With just Anirban Nandi, the most reliable player in their ranks, could not do much against the likes of Sourav Saha and Surajit Das, their weakest player, as Sougata Sarkar won his reverses to see their team home.

Rajasthan put up a brave front but Gujarat scuttled them with a 3-1 win in the quarterfinals. But Gujarat men will begin their semifinal battle against top-seeded PSPB team tomorrow. After Abhishek Yadav posted a comfortable win over Jignesh Jaiswal, Devesh Karia restored parity with a hard-fought victory over Sudhanshu Grover. The see-saw match witnessed fluctuating fortunes with Grover going 2-1 up. But Karia, with two national ranking titles behind him, took the next two games to keep Gujarat’s hopes alive. Hardik Bhatt only hastened the issue by beating Vivek Bhargava, who led 2-0 and faltered. Karia completed the task, winning 3-0 against Yadav.        

  

Kudos to AAI

Nobody would have given even an iota of chance to AAI women against Tamil Nadu. AAI, having lost the services of senior players following age-fudging, had pitted and relied on the junior lot to deliver the goods with the senior most Nikhat Banu for company. And the juniors did not disappoint AAI.

Amrutha Pushpak played a stellar role, wining both her singles. She first beat Narasimha Priya 3-1 and then downed Vidya Narasimhan 11-6, 11-8, 5-11, 11-9 the crucial fourth rubber. But it was a good revenge that Seraha Jacob exacted against Shanmathi Sathiyamoorthy which paved the way for AAI’s entry into the semifinals after the experienced but patchy Nikhat Banu lost to Vidya 10-12, 14-12, 6-11, 13-11, 11-1. 

Seraha had lost 2-3 to Shanmathi the vital fifth rubber at the Junior Nationals which denied Kerala the title.

Karnataka, however, could not sustain their progress and went down to West Bengal in the quarterfinals 3-1. Archana Kamath managed to take her singles off Anandita Chakraborty in what turned out to be a veteran versus the junior player. But Swetha Kumarvel, who played superbly yesterday to beat Maharashtra B, failed to repeat her performance while Spoorthy was taken care of by Mousumi Paul. She, incidentally, won both her singles to put West Bengal in the semis.

For reigning champions PSPB, Delhi became an easy meat despite the presence of Neha Aggarwal as K. Shamini, Mouma Das and Ankita Das went about their demolition task methodically. Neha did stretch Mouma but the latter was up to Neha’s tricks to win her singles. Maharashtra A accounted for Telangana 3-0 without having to shed a drop of sweat.

Results (team events):

Men: Quarterfinals: PSPB bt Tamil Nadu 3-0 (Sanil Shetty bt Sushmit Sriram 11-5, 11-6, 11-6, Anthony Amalraj bt Nitin thiruvengadam 11-6, 7-11, 15-13, 11-9, Harmeet Desai bt Subash Mani 11-6, 12-10, 11-6), Gujarat bt Rajasthan 3-1 (JIgnesh Jaiswal lost to Abhishek Yadav 8-11, 10-12, 11-9, 8-11, Devesh Karia bt Sudhanshu Grover 12-10, 12-14, 8-11, 11-6, 11-5, Hardik Bhatt bt Vivek Bhargava 9-11, 8-11, 11-8, 13-11, 11-8, Devesh Karia bt Abhishek Yadav 11-7, 11-2, 11-7),  Haryana bt Maharashtra A 3-1 (Sourav Chakraborty bt Martand Biniwale 11-8, 11-8, 11-9, Jubin Kumar lost to Aman Balgu 9-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-13, 1-11, Sarthak Gandhi bt Chinmay Datat 7-11, 11-1, 11-6, 11-6, Sourav Chakraborty bt Aman Balgu 11-3, 8-11, 11-7, 11-9), West Bengal bt RSPB 3-1 (Sougata Sarkar lost to Anirban Nandi 5-11, 6-11, 11-9, 11-5, 7-11, Sourav Saha bt E. Prabhakaran 12-10, 5-11, 9-11, 14-12, 11-9, Surajit Das bt Noel Pinto 11-9, 8-11, 17-15, 11-7, Sougata Sarkar bt E. Prabhakaran 11-9, 11-6, 6-11, 12-10.); PQF: PSPB bt Kerala 3-0, Tamil Nadu bt Delhi 3-1, Rajasthan bt Himachal Pradesh 3-0, Gujarat bt North Bengal 3-0, Haryana bt Assam 3-0, Maharashtra A bt Maharashtra B 3-1, RSPB bt Karnataka 3-0, West Bengal bt Telangana 3-1.

Women: Quarterfinals: PSPB bt Delhi 3-0 (K. Shamini bt Manisha Sharma 11-7, 11-9, 11-3, Mouma Das bt Neha Aggarwal 11-9, 11-6, 5-11, 9-11, 11-7, Ankita Das bt Garima Goyak 11-4, 11-13, 11-7, 11-4), Maharashtra A bt Telangana 3-0 (Madhurika Patkar bt Naina 11-4, 11-3, 11-6, Pooja Sahasrabudhe bt Sreeja Akula 8-11, 12-10, 11-8, 13-11, Divya Deshpande bt Monica Manohar 5-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-7), West Bengal bt Karnataka 3-1 (Anandita Chakraborty lost to Archana Kamath 9-11, 3-11, 5-11, Mousumi Paul bt Swetha Kumarvel 11-9, 7-11, 11-8, 5-11, 13-11, Pallabi Kundu bt Spoorthi Venkateshan 11-6, 11-6, 11-3, Mousumi Paul bt Archana Kamath 11-6, 11-9, 8-11, 11-8), Airports Authority of India bt Tamil Nadu 3-1 (Amrutha Pushpak bt Narasimha Priya 11-5, 11-3 12-10, Nikhat Banu lost to Vidya Narasimhan 10-12, 14-12, 6-11, 13-11, 11-1, Sereha Jacob bt Shanmathi Sathiyamoorthy 11-2, 11-6, 12-10, Amrutha Pushpak bt Vidya Narasimha 11-6, 11-8, 5-11, 11-9); PQF: PSPB bt Gujarat 3-1, Delhi bt Haryana 3-0, Maharashtra A bt Assam 3-0, Telangana bt Maharashtra B 3-0, West Bengal bt Andhra Pradesh 3-0, Karnataka bt Odisha 3-0, Tamil Nadu bt Pondicherry 3-0, Airports Authority of India bt North Bengal 3-0.

A TTFI Press release

PSPB march ahead, Karnataka women upset Maharashtra B

Pudhucherry, January 12, 2015: The Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) women’s team was the first one to enter the pre-quarterfinals of the 76th Senior Nationals, which began at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium here today.

Their men’s team, pooled with five teams in group A, had notched up two 3-0 wins against Odisha and Telangana in the morning and was very much on way to making the Stage 2 cut. But they have two more matches to play, one tonight and the second tomorrow, for a clear picture to emerge. Telengana, thought lost to PSPB, could be the second team to qualify for the main draw from the group.

As for PSPB women, they downed both Andhra Pradesh and Bihar with an identical margin of 3-0 and they executed the job against Bihar with the help of Poulami Ghatak, Mouma Das and K. Shamini while against Andhra they employed both Ankita Das and Manika Batra to prepare them for the battles ahead along with Shamini. In both cases, PSPB paddlers completed the act in quick time to sound out a grim warning to the others.

In group B, North Bengal beat Madhya Pradesh 3-0 and their paddlers are slated to take on Assam in their second match later tonight. But their passage into the pre-quarters is more or less sealed as they are expected to beat Assam.

Similarly, West Bengal from group C, Airports Authority of India and Telangana from group D, Delhi from group E have almost booked their stage 2 berths while with just one set of matches having been played in groups F, G and H, things will be clear only on the morrow on which all teams make the grade.

Karnataka on roll

However, the most interesting match of the afternoon was the one between Karnataka and Maharashtra B, last year’s quarterfinalist and group H leader. Karnataka, driven by the new forces Swetha Kumarvel and junior national champion Archana Kamath, upset Maharashtra B 3-2 in a lively league match.

Archana and Swetha provided Karnataka with a 2-0 lead, but Maharashtra B nullified it when Vedika Garg and Mallika Bhadarkar took beat Spoorthi Venkatashan and Archana, respectively, in the reverse singles. Mallika, in particular, had to bring out her best against Archana to win 4-11, 11-9, 4-11, 11-6, 14-12 to breathe life. But Swetha took care of Karnataka’s interest with a 11-9, 11-7, 11-13, 11-3 triumph over Devika Bhide.

This victory must put Karnataka in a better frame of mind and with matches against Kerala and Tripura they should seal their place in the pre-quarters.  Maharashtra, despite their early loss, should look ahead to qualify as the second team from group H.

The men’s affairs are still far from clear as teams have played just two sets of matches with two each to go. However, the results so far indicate easy Stage 2 passage to all the fancied teams, leaving the contest for the second slots in each group to the rest in fray.

PSPB men lead group A with two wins while it is Delhi in group B, Gujarat in group C, Haryana in group D, Maharashtra A in group E and RSPB in group H. As for group F, the fight for the top two positions are among Maharashtra B, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh as they have a win each while the position in group G is similar to group F with Tamil Nadu, Mizoram and Karantaka having a victory each.

Results: Women's Team - Stage: 1 : Group A - Round 1
P S P B  beat  BIHAR  (3 - 0)
POULOMI Ghatak  beat  JOSHI Suparna  3 - 0	(11-7,  11-3,  11-6)
DAS Mouma  beat  KUMARI Payal  3 - 0	(11-2,  11-4,  11-4)
KUMARESAN Shamini  beat  MANDAL Chumkee  3 - 0	(11-4,  11-4,  11-3)
Women's Team - Stage: 1 : Group B - Round 1
JHARKHAND  lost to  NORTH BENGAL  (0 - 3)
SHIKHA Deep  lost to  ANTARA Banerjee  0 - 3	(6-11,  10-12,  6-11)
NAZ Afreen  lost to  BOSE Sayani  0 - 3	(4-11,  3-11,  7-11)
SINGH Neha  lost to  SARKAR Shamali  0 - 3	(5-11,  4-11,  8-11)
Women's Team - Stage: 1 : Group C - Round 1
CHHATTISGARH  lost to  AIRPORT AUTHORITY  (0 - 3)
MODI Surabhi  lost to  PUSHPAK S amrutha  0 - 3	(3-11,  5-11,  3-11)
JHA Nisha  lost to  BANU Nikhat  0 - 3	(5-11,  4-11,  5-11)
PANDEY Sarakshi  lost to  RONY Maria  0 - 3	(4-11,  4-11,  5-11)
Women's Team - Stage: 1 : Group D - Round 1
TRIPURA  beat  RAJASTHAN  (3 - 0)
AKULA Sreeja  beat  DAS Rituja  3 - 0	(11-5,  11-2,  11-9)
. Naina  beat  PAREEK Priyanka  3 - 1	(11-6,  12-10,  10-12,  11-4)
MANOHAR Monica  beat  SHARMA* Iti*  3 - 1	(11-7,  11-6,  5-11,  11-5)
Women's Team - Stage: 1 : Group D - Round 1
PUNJAB  lost to  DELHI  (0 - 3)
SHARMA Yashi  lost to  GOYAL garima  1 - 3	(10-12,  11-9,  2-11,  4-11)
SHARMA Dhariti  lost to  NEHA Aggarwal  0 - 3	(1-11,  3-11,  4-11)
PATIAL Neha  lost to  NIKITA Rautela  0 - 3	(4-11,  6-11,  8-11)
Women's Team - Stage: 1 : Group E - Round 1
ODISHA  beat  UTTARAKHAND  (3 - 0)
SAMARTHA Prusty  beat  CHHIMWAL Sunita  3 - 0	(11-7,  11-7,  11-6)
BASAK Anannya  beat  NEGI Vinita  3 - 2	(11-7,  12-10,  9-11,  10-12,  12-10)
GHATAK Poushali  beat  CHHIMWAL Vineeta  3 - 0	(11-7,  11-3,  11-2)
Women's Team - Stage: 1 : Group E - Round 1
HIMACHAL PRADESH  lost to  TAMIL NADU  (0 - 3)
PRASHAR Aanchal  lost to  NARASIMHA PRIYA Sundarajan  0 - 3	(1-11,  3-11,  11-13)
CHAUDHRY Surbhi  lost to  VIDYA Narasimhan  0 - 3	(1-11,  2-11,  8-11)
JARYAL Sakshi  lost to  SHANMATHI Sathyamoorthy  0 - 3	(8-11,  9-11,  2-11)
Women's Team - Stage: 1 : Group F - Round 1
MADHYA PRADESH  beat  UTTAR PRADESH  (3 - 1)
KHANDELWAL Shelly  beat  CHATTERJEE Moitree  3 - 2	(5-11,  4-11,  13-11,  11-6,  11-4)
KAKARIA Meghna  beat  SINGH Vandana  3 - 1	(14-16,  12-10,  12-10,  12-10)
SAINI Suhana  lost to  GUPTA Tanu  0 - 3	(9-11,  10-12,  4-11)
KHANDELWAL Shelly  beat  SINGH Vandana  3 - 1	(11-13,  11-6,  11-8,  11-6)
Women's Team - Stage: 1 : Group F - Round 1
PONDICHERRY  lost to  MAHARASHTRA A  (0 - 3)
OVIYA Kirubanandam  lost to  POOJA Sahasrabudhe  1 - 3	(8-11,  11-7,  3-11,  7-11)
M Rahila  lost to  DIVYA Deshpande  0 - 3	(4-11,  4-11,  3-11)
M Hanisha  lost to  PATKAR Madhurika  0 - 3	(10-12,  7-11,  4-11)
Women's Team - Stage: 1 : Group G - Round 1
CHANDIGARH  beat  MEGHALAYA  (3 - 0)
KALYANI Kakkar  beat  CHETTRI Medhavi  3 - 0	(11-4,  11-6,  11-7)
SAINI Nadia  beat  TANUSHREE Das gupta  3 - 1	(11-8,  11-6,  8-11,  11-9)
NAINA Suri  beat  W. LYNGSKOR Amanda  3 - 0	(11-7,  11-4,  11-9)
Women's Team - Stage: 1 : Group G - Round 1
WEST BENGAL  beat  MADHYA PRADESH  (3 - 0)
MOUSUMI Paul  beat  KUTUMBALE Anusha  3 - 0	(11-6,  11-6,  11-4)
CHAKRABORTY Anandita  beat  CHATURVEDI Himani  3 - 0	(11-4,  11-4,  11-9)
BHATTACHARYA Rupsa  beat  MEHTA Anisha  3 - 0	(11-8,  11-6,  11-6)
Women's Team - Stage: 1 : Group H - Round 1
KARNATAKA  beat  MAHARASHTRA B  (3 - 2)
KAMATH Archana  beat  DEVIKA Bhide  3 - 0	(11-8,  11-7,  11-6)
KUMARAVEL Swetha  beat  MALLIKA Bhandarkar  3 - 1	(11-9,  8-11,  11-6,  13-11)
SPOORTHI Venkatesha m  lost to  VEDIKA Garg  1 - 3	(10-12,  11-8,  6-11,  6-11)
KAMATH Archana  lost to  MALLIKA Bhandarkar  2 - 3	(11-4,  9-11,  11-4,  6-11,  12-14)
KUMARAVEL Swetha  beat  DEVIKA Bhide  3 - 1	(11-9,  11-7,  11-13,  11-3)
Women's Team - Stage: 1 : Group H - Round 1
KERALA  beat  TRIPURA  (3 - 0)
LATHEEF Adheena k  beat  SUR Srayosree  3 - 1	(11-8,  7-11,  11-6,  11-9)
SIKHA Jacob  beat  SAHA Moumita  3 - 0	(11-9,  11-7,  14-12)
NANDINI Menon  beat  DEB Disha  3 - 1	(9-11,  11-4,  11-8,  11-6)
Women's Team - Stage: 1 : Group A - Round 2
P S P B  beat  ANDHRA PRADESH  (3 - 0)
DAS Ankita  beat  NOORBASHA Shailu  3 - 0	(11-4,  11-6,  11-6)
BATRA Manika  beat  KATAM Vaishali  3 - 1	(11-8,  11-9,  9-11,  11-8)
KUMARESAN Shamini  beat  ERUSU Anushareddy  3 - 0	(11-8,  11-1,  11-5)
Women's Team - Stage: 1 : Group B - Round 2
NORTH BENGAL  beat  ASSAM  (3 - 1)
BOSE Sayani  beat  GOGOI Mallika  3 - 0	(11-4,  12-10,  12-10)
ANTARA Banerjee  beat  UPADHAYA Kritika  3 - 1	(12-10,  14-12,  8-11,  14-12)
SARKAR Shamali  lost to  BATSALLYA Mahasweta  0 - 3	(2-11,  7-11,  8-11)
BOSE Sayani  beat  UPADHAYA Kritika  3 - 1	(12-10,  7-11,  11-9,  11-7)
Women's Team - Stage: 1 : Group D - Round 2
TRIPURA  beat  RAJASTHAN  (3 - 0)
PUSHPAK S amrutha  beat  SHARMA* Iti*  3 - 1	(8-11,  11-7,  11-7,  11-8)
BANU Nikhat  beat  PAREEK Priyanka  3 - 0	(11-6,  11-6,  11-7)
JACOB Sereha  beat  DAS Rituja  3 - 0	(11-7,  12-10,  11-8)
Women's Team - Stage: 1 : Group D - Round 2
TELANGANA  beat  CHHATTISGARH  (3 - 0)
MANOHAR Monica  beat  JHA Nisha  3 - 0	(11-3,  11-5,  11-5)
. Naina  beat  MODI Surabhi  3 - 0	(11-4,  11-7,  12-10)
SUBRAMANYAM Laasya  beat  HANSAPURI Payal  3 - 0	(11-5,  11-6,  11-6)
Women's Team - Stage: 1 : Group E - Round 2
ODISHA  lost to  DELHI  (0 - 3)
SAMARTHA Prusty  lost to  GOYAL garima  1 - 3	(11-13,  12-10,  10-12,  10-12)
BASAK Anannya  lost to  NEHA Aggarwal  0 - 3	(3-11,  5-11,  8-11)
GHATAK Poushali  lost to  SHARMA Manisha  2 - 3	(11-5,  6-11,  11-8,  7-11,  5-11)
Women's Team - Stage: 1 : Group E - Round 2
UTTARAKHAND  lost to  PUNJAB  (0 - 3)
NEGI Vinita  lost to  PATIAL Neha  2 - 3	(13-15,  5-11,  12-10,  11-4,  7-11)
CHHIMWAL Sunita  lost to  SHARMA Yashi  0 - 3	(5-11,  8-11,  11-13)
SHARMA Monika  lost to  SHARMA Dhariti  0 - 3	(6-11,  8-11,  9-11)
Women's Team - Stage: 1 : Group F - Round 2
HIMACHAL PRADESH  lost to  UTTAR PRADESH  (0 - 3)
PRASHAR Aanchal  lost to  GUPTA Tanu  0 - 3	(9-11,  5-11,  2-11)
CHAUDHRY Surbhi  lost to  CHATTERJEE Moitree  0 - 3	(3-11,  7-11,  3-11)
JARYAL Sakshi  lost to  SINGH Vandana  0 - 3	(5-11,  11-13,  7-11)

A TTFI Press release