Senior Nationals: Unseeded Ayhika and Mouma reach semifinals

After defeating the top seeded Manika Batra in the pre-quarterfinals, Ayhika overcame Moumita Dutta of PSPB in the last eight clash, to set up a semifinal with Akula Sreeja, who was clinical in her win over Swastika Ghosh of Maharashtra-A.

Ayhika Mukherjee of RBI in action.

Ayhika Mukherjee (RBI) and Mouma Das (PSPB), both unseeded, were the standout performers in the singles matches at the Senior National table tennis championships here on Sunday. 

After defeating the top seeded Manika Batra in the pre-quarterfinals, Ayhika overcame Moumita Dutta of PSPB in the last eight clash, to set up a semifinal with Akula Sreeja, who was clinical in her win over Swastika Ghosh of Maharashtra-A.

Reeth Rishya has been in the form of her life, both mentally and physically. She has been consistent and has not compromised on attack. Her impressive quarterfinal victory over Takeme Sarkar (RSPB) in four straight games and earlier over Sutirtha Mukherjee has made her the favourite for the crown. Reeth will clash with Mouma Das.

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Thirty-eight-year-old Mouma, making a comeback after three years, since becoming a mother, has been outstanding, to say the least. Rightfully, she was given a standing ovation from the modest crowd after her win over Anusha Kutumbale in the quarterfinals. 

There weren’t any major upsets in the men’s singles. The top two seeds, Sharath Kamal and G. Sathiyan had to really work hard to earn their spots in the semfinals.

Semifinal line-up: Men: Sharath Kamal vs Manush Shah; Sathiyan vs Sanil Shetty; Women: Mouma vs Reeth; Sreeja vs Ayhika.