Less than three weeks after winning the titles at Vadodara and two days before the commencement of the National championship, Harmeet Desai and Archana Kamath added a second one for the season in the National ranking table tennis tournament here on Thursday.
Desai overcame a spell of complacency that saw Manush Shah save six set-points in the opener after trailing 5-10 in the first set before regaining control for a 13-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-6 victory.
Desai, who dropped just one set – to his quarterfinal rival Sudhanshu Grover – during the day, was not required to play his best to maintain his unbeaten run against Manush, his teammate from Gujarat. The left-handed Manush, brilliant in flashes, committed far too many mistakes to pose any threat to Desai.
Top-seed Archana was always in control against second-seeded Ayhika Mukherjee, one among those recommended for the Arjuna Award on Wednesday. Archana raced away with the first three sets, rushed a bit to drop the fourth but stayed clear of danger in the fifth to win 11-8, 11-6, 11-8, 7-11, 11-8.
Earlier, in the under-19 section saw the top seeds finish second-best.
Seventh-seeded Jash Modi bounced back brilliantly from losing the first two sets to nail top seed Ankur Bhattacharya. The resurgent Modi looked firmly on course to victory, leading 7-11, 9-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-8 and 5-0 in the sixth set, when Ankur conceded the tie.
Pritha Vartikar, seeded second, broke the heart of local favourite Suhana Saini by completing a 11-8, 11-13, 12-10, 6-11, 11-9, 11-5 triumph.
RESULTS
Men: (final): Harmeet Desai (Pet) bt Manush Shah (RBI) 13-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-6; (semifinals): Shah bt Payas Jain (Del) 7-11, 11-6, 13-11, 14-12, 12-10; Desai bt P.B. Abhinand (TN) 11-5, 11-4, 11-3, 11-7; (quarterfinals): Jain bt Jeet Chandra (AAI) 10-12, 11-6, 11-9, 11-6; Shah bt Ronit Bhanja (RSPB) 11-8, 11-8, 11-5; P. B. Abhinand bt S. F. R. Snehit (AAI) 10-12, 14-12, 11-3, 11-8; Desai bt Sudhanshu Grover (Del) 9-11, 11-3, 1-11, 11-6, 11-9.
Women (final): Archana Kamath (Pet) bt Ayhika Mukherjee (RBI) 11-8, 11-6, 11-8, 7-11, 11-8; (semifinals): Archana bt Yashini Sivashankar (TN) 11-9, 11-4, 11-6, 11-6; Ayhika bt Sayali Wani (Mah) 11-4, 11-8, 11-8, 11-9; (quarterfinals): Archana bt Poymantee Baisya (Rlys) 11-3, 11-7, 11-8; Yashini bt Pritha Vartikar (Mah) 11-3, 12-10, 11-13, 11-8; Sayali bt Anjali Rohilla (Har) 8-11, 11-8, 10-12, 11-9, 11-4; Ayhika bt Yashaswini Ghorpade (Kar) 13-11, 11-8, 8-11,11-8.
Boys under-19 (final): Jash Modi (Mah) bt Ankur Bhattacharjee 7-11, 9-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-8 5-0 (conceded); (semifinals): Ankur bt Sarth Mishra (UP 11-9, 14-12, 11-4; Jash bt Bodhisatwa Chaudhury (Ben) 11-6, 11-5, 6-11, 11-4; (quarterfinals): Ankur bt P. B. Abhinand (TN) 11-9, 6-11, 11-5, 11-3; Mishra bt Shankhadeep Das (Ben) 12-10, 12-10, 11-7; Chaudhury bt K. J. Akash (Kar) 12-10, 11-8, 6-11, 11-7; Jash bt Divyansh Srivastava (UP 11-8, 11-9, 11-3.
Girls under-19 (final): Pritha Vartikar (Mah) bt Suhana Saini (Har) 11-8, 11-13, 12-10, 6-11, 11-9, 11-5; (semifinals): Suhana bt Suhani Mahajan (UP) 11-7, 11-6, 11-9; Pritha bt Sayali Wani (Mah) 11-4, 11-5, 11-9; (quarterfinals): Suhana bt K. Disha (UP) 11-8, 11-8, 12-10, 11-4; Suhani bt Nandini Saha (WB) 11-6, 3-11, 11-4, 2-11, 11-8; Sayali bt Ananya Chande (Mah) 11-8, 5-11, 11-4, 11-7; Pritha bt Syndrela Das (WB) 11-8, 7-11, 11-9, 11-9.
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