Sudhanshu, Suthirtha new junior champs

New Delhi, July 22, 2013: Sudhanshu Grover defeated Abhishek Yadav 4-3 to emerge the Junior Boys singles champion while it was another new face, Suthirtha Mukherjee who won the Junior Girls singles crown beating the experienced Manika Batra 4-2 to win the Junior Girls crown on the concluding day of the South Asian Junior Table Tennis Championships at the IG Stadium here on Monday.

Earlier, two more fresh names—Anirban Ghosh and Sagarika Mukherjee—won maiden international singles titles in the Cadet sections which, along with the doubles crowns in the junior sections, made it a Perfect Ten for India in the championships. The doubles titles went to Abhishek and Suidhanshu Grover in the boys’ category, while Manika Batra and Suthirtha Mukherjee combined to claim the girls’ crown. In both finals, their opponents were Sri Lankan.

Sri Lanka, who along with India qualified for the Asian Junior championships to be held in Doha, finished the table as the second best team with reasonably good performances coming up from their paddlers. India also won two silver medals through Abhishek Yadav and Manika Batra to add to their tally.

Sudhanshu had to pull all tricks to beat Abhishek who was not the one to give up easily. The see-saw final had its ups and downs with each of the players keeping their interest alive. But in the end Sudhanshu kept his lead intact in the seventh game, before Abhishek made it 7-all. At that point of time, it looks the match could go any way.

However, Sudhanshu stopped the southpaw on his tracks and took four straight points to win the match and the crown.

“It was a pulsating final and Abhisheh was strong on his forehand. I had to counter that and that was my problem initially. But was lucky on some points and they made my day,” said Sudhanshu on his maiden international title. “Last year Abhishek had beaten me and I had to give it back this year,” added Sudhanshu. 

Suthirtha took the first two games rather easily, but Manika, who is ranked 27th in the world, staged a fine comeback to win the next two to bring some balance into the final. But Suthirtha, without playing into Manika’s game plan of push and prod, attacked winning the vital points, particularly in the fifth game. Once she took the upper hand, the sixth game became a formality for the West Bengal girl who won by a mile to shut out whatever little challenge that had come from the Delhi girl.

“I was into attacking mode in the third and fourth games. But Monika blocked well to keep her in the match. I changed my plan in the fifth even though she (Manika) was breathing down my neck. The moment I took 3-2 lead, I knew what my game plan should be. It (attack) paid me rich dividends,” said the 35th ranked player.

THE RESULTS:

Junior Boys Singles: Final: Sudhanshu Grover (Ind) bt Abhishek Yadav (Ind) 4-3 (11-9, 9-11, 10-12, 12-10, 11-9, 7-11, 11-7); Semi-finals: Sudhanshu Grover (Ind) bt Rameez Muhammad (Pak) 4-1 (15-13, 7-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-9), Abhishek Yadav (Ind) bt Awal Piyush (Nep) 4-0 (11-5, 11-5, 11-5, 11-6).

Doubles: Final: Abhishek Yadav/Sudhanshu Grovere (Ind) bt Vimukthi Wijesiri/Liyanahe Kahawaththa (SL)3-0 (11-6, 11-9, 11-6); Semi-finals: Abhishek Yadav/Sudhanshu Grover (Ind) bt Jubair Ahmed/Sajid Wahid (Bang)3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-6), Vimukhi Wijesiri/Liyanahe Kahawaththa (SL) bt Mani Lama/Awal Piyush (Nep) 3-1 (8-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-7).

Junior Girls Singles: Final: Suthirtha Mukherjee (Ind) bt Manika Batra (Ind)4-2 (11-9, 11-7, 7-11, 12-14, 11-9, 11-6); Seim-finals: Manika Batra (Ind) bt Tharakie De Silva (SL) 4-1 (11-6, 11-3, 11-5, 11-13, 11-4), Suthirtha Mukherjee (Ind) bt Bandara Rajaguru (SL) 4-0 (11-6, 12-10, 11-4, 11-7).

Doubles: Final: Manika Batra/Suthirtha Mukherjee (Ind) bt Tharakie De Silva/Bandara Rajaguru (SL)3-1 (11-5, 9-11, 11-3, 13-11); Semi-finals: Manika Batra/Suthirtha Mukherjee (Ind) bt Shamin Akhter Minara/Esrat Jahan Nahima (Bang) 3-0 (11-4, 11-4, 11-8), Tharakie De Silva/Bandara Rajaguru (SL) bt Kajol Rauniyar/Manita Chitrakar (Nep) 3-0 (11-6, 11-9, 11-3).

Cadet Boys Singles: Final: Anirban Ghosh (Ind) bt Birdie Boro (Ind) 3-1 (11-7, 12-10, 8-11, 11-8), Semi-finals: Anirban Ghosh (Ind) bt Udaya Ranasinghe (SL) 3-0 (11-4, 11-9, 11-9), Birdie Boro (Ind) bt Jayasanka De Silva (SL) 3-0 (11-7, 11-5, 11-8).

Cadet Girls Singles: Final: Sagarika Mukherjee (Ind) bt R. Harshavardhini (Ind) 3-0 (12-10, 11-6, 11-7); Semi-finals:Sagarika Mukherjee (Ind) bt Pavani Siresena (SL) 3-0 (11-5, 11-9, 15-13), R. Harshavardini Calange (Ind) bt Sheshala Bandara (SL) 3-0 (11-6, 12-10, 11-5).

A TTFI Press release

Indian paddlers on a gold rush

New Delhi, July 21, 2013: Indian paddlers completed the formality in a way they were expected to claim all the four team gold medals on the second day of the South Asian Junior Table Tennis Championships at the IG Stadium here on Sunday.

Sri Lanka finished behind them to win the four silver medals, while the bronze medals were shared by Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan. Bhutan remained the only country not to finish among medals in the team events.

Indian paddlers’ results were a foregone conclusion, but the point interest remained about the way the new crop performing. In fact, all the fresh faces did really well while it was Sudhanshu Grover and Abhishek Yadav  in the Junior Boys sections were extended by their rivals.

First, it was Grover who was surprised by Nepal’s Mani Lama who took the Indian to the brink before the latter won by a margin of three points. In the semifinal game, Lama gave some anxious moments in the second and third games to put pressure on Grover. The Indian played into Lama’s hands and allowed him the 2-1 lead. But in the fourth Grover came back nicely to restore parity. In the decider, Lama stretched the Indian but Grover finished strong.

Similarly, in the final southpaw Abhishek had pull out all tricks against Sri Lankan Niroshana Kahawathatha Liyanahe who matched the Indian stroke for stroke. After leading comfortable at 2-0, the Indian made errors at the next with his backhand not working as well. Taking the cue, the Sri Lankan took the game to bring some excitement in the match. But that was all he could do as Abhishek shut out his challenge. Then Abhishek combined with Rohit Rajasekhar to win the doubles to seal the fate of Sri Lanka.

The women teams in both the Junior and Cadet sections finished on top of the group to win the titles. The first stage in singles events have begun and the early indications are that India were on way to sweep the medal tally.

Results:

Junior Boys (Stage II-Final): India bt Sri Lanka 3-0 (Sudhanshu Grover bt Vimukthi Wijesiri 11-5, 11-6, 11-6, Abhishek Yadav bt Niroshana Kahawathatha 11-9, 11-8, 8-11, 11-6, Rohit Rajasekhar bt Dilshan Ekanayaka 11-6, 11-4, 11-6); Semi-final: India bt Nepal 3-0 (Sudhanshu Grover bt Mani Lama 11-7, 9-11, 5-11, 11-4, 11-8, , Abhishek Yadav bt Awal Piyush 11-7, 11-4, 11-2, Utkarsh Gupta bt Nihal Shrestha 14-12, 11-9, 11-6), Sri Lanka bt Pakistan 3-0 (Niroshana Kahawathatha bt Rameez Muhammad 11-13, 11-6, 8-11, 12-10, 11-5, Vimukhit Wijesiri bt Khurshid Tabish 11-6, 11-9, 12-10, Krishan Wickeramaratha bt Jamal Aziz 11-9, 11-8, 9-11, 14-12).

Junior Girls (Round 3): India bt Sri Lanka 3-0 (Suthirtha Mukherjee bt Tharakie De Silver 11-8, 11-7, 11-5, Manika Batra bt Sankalpana Kannangara 11-4, 11-7, 11-5, Reeth Rishya Tennison bt Chamathasara Fernando 11-3, 11-4, 11-8; Nepal bt Bangladesh 3-1.

Cadet Boys: (Stage II-Final: Indian bt Sri Lanka 3-0 (Birdie Boro bt Udaya Ranasinghe 11-4, 9-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-8, Anirban Ghosh bt Jayasanka De Silva 11-7, 11-6, 11-5; Anirban Ghosh/Lalrin Puia bt Udaya Ranasinghe/Poornima Warusawithana 11-3, 11-7, 11-9); Semi-final: Indiaa bt Nepal 3-0 (Birdie Boro bt Santoo Shretha 11-4, 11-8, 11-5, Lalrin Puia bt Krishan Thapa 11-4, 11-7, 11-5, Anirban Ghosh/Birdie Boro bt Santoo Shretha/Krishna Thapa 12-10, 12-10, 11-3).

Cadet Girls: Round-3: India bt Sri Lanka 3-0 (Sreeja Akula bt Pavani Sirisena 11-1, 12-10, 11-5, Sagarika Mukherjee bt Ri Karadanaarachchi 11-3, 11-5, 11-4, Sagarika Mukherjee/R. Harshavardini bt Pavani Sirisena 11-2, 11-3, 11-9).

TTFI Press release

Indian paddlers go through motions

New Delhi, July 20, 2013: The Indian teams did not have even a semblance of resistance from any quarter as their boys and girls in the Junior and Cadet sections went through the motion on the opening day of the South Asian Junior Table Tennis Championships, being played at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium here today.

The Cadet and Junior Boys events, which are played in two stages, saw the Indians taking their respective top slots to move into Stage II. As for the girls, particularly in the junior section, kept a clean slate winning both their matches against Nepal and Bangladesh, beating them with an identical margin of 3-0.

They have a match against Sri Lanaka, who too have four points from two wins and their match tomorrow with the hosts will decide the group topper. For the Indians, it should be a cakewalk.

Interestingly, both India and Sri Lanka have a 3-0 win each against Nepal and with just three teams competing in the Cadet girls section, India will have to beat Sri Lanka to complete a formality.  

The results in the Cadet and Junior Boys sections were no different. The Indians, part of group A, defeated Pakistan and Bhutan 3-0 to occupy the top position. Similarly, in Cadet Section, India routed Bangladesh and Pakistan by the same margin.

Sri Lanka, who are proving to be the second best team from the region, have kept their date with destiny beating the smaller nations that are struggling to find their feet in the discipline.

Results:

Cadet Boys: Group A: India bt Bangladesh 3-0, India bt Pakistan 3-0; Bangladesh bt Pakistan 3-0; Group B: Sri Lanka bt Bhutan 3-0, Sri Lanka bt Nepal 3-0.

Cadet Girls: India bt Nepal 3-0, Sri Lanka bt Nepal 3-0.

Junior Boys: India bt Pakistan 3-0, Pakistan bt Bhutan 3-1, India bt Bhutan 3-0; Group B: Sri Lanka bt Nepal 3-0, Bangladesh bt Nepal 3-1, Sri Lanka bt Bangladesh 3-0.

Junior Girls: India bt Nepal 3-0, Sri Lanka bt Nepal 3-0, India bt Bangladesh 3-0, Sri Lanka bt Bangladesh 3-0.

A TTFI Press release

Indian paddlers start favourites in South Asian Junior Table Tennis Championships

New Delhi, July 19, 2013: Indian paddlers start favourites yet again to make another clean sweep of all the 10 gold medals on offer when they start their campaign in the South Asian Junior Table Tennis Championships that get underway at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium here from tomorrow.

 In the last edition held at Shillong, the Indians not only won the gold in team and individual events of all the four sections—Cadet Boys, Junior Boys, Cadet Girls and Junior Girls—but also claimed four silvers in the singles events to make it a India-centric event.

The verdict this time will be no different because that is the maximum that the Indians can aim for in a format that tries to accommodate the interests of the visiting teams as well.  Nevertheless, there is so much to gain from the championships as it provides the gateway to the Junior Asian Championships, the big platform for the junior paddlers.

 Indian paddlers have been consistently walking into the Asian Juniors as the top team from the region, leaving the second position to other five teams. Last year, it was Sri Lanka who qualified in all but one section and they will want to make amends. Nepal managed to qualify in the Junior Boys section while Sri Lanka grabbed spots in other three sections as the second-best team.

 But where one expects an intense rivalry—limited to only Indians—to come in is in the singles events. India have cleverly chosen their squads by including some experienced hands as well as a few fresh faces. For the likes of Abhishek Yadav and Utkarsh, the winners of Junior Boys and Cadet Boys singles crowns, along with Sudhanshu Grover, Birdie Boro and Lalrin Puia this will be the second appearance in succession while Rohit Rajsekhar and Anirban Ghosh are the new faces.

 Similarly, Suthirtha Mukherjee, who has grown in stature, and Reeth Rishya SAF championships are not new. But for the likes of Manika Batra, who was pulled out last year to compete in the senior section, Ayhika Mukerjee, R. Harshavardhani, Sagarika Mukherjee and up-and-coming Sreeja Akula, the meet provides a bigger platform.

Suthirtha gets her opportunity to win the title in Junior Girls section but Manika will be breathing down her neck. Suthirtha, who is ranked 35 in the world, has not only beaten Manika, ranked 27, at the Slovak Open recently, but the West Bengal girl went on to annex the Polish title in May. So, the dice is heavily loaded against the Delhi girl.

As for the boys section, each one of them knows the other like the back of his palm. All of them are capable of beating one another on a given day, but both Abhishek and Utkarsh have a lot at stake to defend their crowns.

With six teams in fray, the Cadet Boys and Junior Boys teams will play in two stages while the girls in both sections will play in a league format.

In the Cadet Boys section, group A has India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and group B has in Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Nepal. In the Junior Boys section, India, Pakistan and Bhutan have been put together in group A, while Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh form group B.

Ganeshan Neelakant Iyer will be the competition manager for the event while A.S. Kler is the referee of the championships. Stag 1000 DX table and Nittaku ball (orange) will be used for the championships. The synthetic flooring used will be red in colour.

The events start at 10 am with the opening ceremony on Saturday is slated for 4.30 p.m.

A TTFI Press release