UTT-South Zone Championships: Kavyashree signs off with a double

The Tamil Nadu paddler added the sub-junior girls’ title to the Talent Identification Event crown that she had won on Monday.

All smiles: Diya Bramhachary, Aadarsh Om Chetri, Kavyasree Baskar and P.B. Abhinandh won at the UTT South Zone National ranking championship.

Kavyashree Baskar ended her campaign in the UTT-South Zone National-ranking table tennis championships with a double on Wednesday.

As the curtains fell on the eight-day event at the Jimmy George indoor stadium here, the lanky paddler from Tamil Nadu added the sub-junior girls’ title to the Talent Identification Event crown that she had won on Monday. In the final, which followed predictable lines, Kavya beat Taneesha Kotecha (Maharashtra) 11-5, 12-10, 10-12, 11-2, 8-11, 11-6.

It was the second straight heartbreak for Taneesha, who had lost in the season-opening North Zone championships in Sonepat.

The sub-juniors boys’ final was a close affair, but No.1 Aadarsh Om Chetri (Delhi) eventually pulled past Divyansh Srivastava (Uttar Pradesh) 8-11, 11-9, 11-6, 8-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-4 to win his second straight title of the season.

It was Aadarsh’s failure to check his errors that helped Divyansh stretch the affair to the hilt, playing close to the table and troubling his Delhi opponent by pinning his shot at his Achilles heel. But Aadarsh ensured he covered the table at the crucial stages.

P.B. Abhinandh provided Tamil Nadu with another title as he won the top prize of the cadet boys’ singles with ease. The hard-hitting Chennai schoolboy was always in control as he beat Priyanuj Bhattacharya (PSPB academy) effortlessly.

However, his team-mate, M. Hansini fell at the final hurdle of the girls’ final, losing to Diya Brahmachary (Bengal) 11-9, 11-7, 11-8, 8-11, 11-4.