Panchkula: Punching way above her weight, Haryana’s Suhana Saini felled Karnataka’s Yashaswini Ghorpade to win the singles of the Youth Under-19 Girls crown in the UTT National Ranking North Zone Table Tennis Championships trophy at the Tau Devi Lal Multipurpose Indoor Stadium here today. Suhana won 4-3 in a thriller.
Payas Jain of Delhi, after her recent exploits in Tunis, Slovenia and Oman, made sure he added another silverware in the Under-19 Boys a little later. He defeated state-mate Yashansh Malik 4-0 to win the singles trophy and also a purse of Rs. 34,000.
In her win against the Karnataka girl, Suhana trailed 7-10 in the decider but she deuced first and sent the ball to the right of Yashaswini to clinch the final point to lift the trophy and carry home the winner’s purse of Rs. 29,000.
But what emerged at the end of the final was that her laboured wins against Diya Chitale and Taneesha Kotecha were no fluke and that she could be a handful for even the seasoned players. Unlike the semi-final, the fortune kept changing hands until the score was 3-3. In the decider, Suhana yet again demonstrated that she was not going to give up. On the other hand, the Karnataka girl failed to press home her advantage, ultimately pushing her to the corner.
Fourth seed Yashswini didn’t need more than 25 minutes to beat Delhi’s Vanshika 4-0 in the first semi-final. The Delhi paddler, who was lucky to reach the semis when top-seed Swastika conceded her quarterfinal match after leading 2-0, was no match to the Karnataka girl who has tasted a few successes in various international tournaments recently. However, Haryana’s Suhana Saini punched above her weight in two back-to-back matches, taking the most difficult routes to the final.
The 15-year-old, who has been among three international gold medals in the past month, outsmarted Youth National champion Diya Chitale in the semi-final. The Maharashtra girl was at a vantage position with a 3-0 cushion. The favourite to win the title, Diya somehow lost her touch and even forgot that attack was her best form of defence. The Haryana paddler seized every such moment, building her lead brick by brick in the last four games to wrap up the match.
She also played a similar match in the quarterfinals against another Maharashtra girl, Taneesha Kotecha. But it was more about showing of holding her nerves in the decider.
Earlier, Yashaswini accounted for Radhapriya Goel of UP 4-0 while Diya downed Delhi’s Lakshita Narang for a similar score.
The Boys final did not have any such thrills that the Girls final gave. It was as easy as it could get for Payas, who has been in the best form of his life.
Payas’s assertive play came to the fore in the two matches he played this morning. He didn’t take much time to dispose of Maharashtra’s Jash Modi, beating him in straight games in the quarterfinals. But he awaited a stern test in the semi-final against Mizoram’s H. Jeho, an out-and-out defensive player. In the three Under-17 Boys finals he played in recent times abroad, he kept a clean slate. But not once did he have to face a defensive player.
But he dispelled whatever apprehensions one might have had, ruling the table in his characteristic fashion, including adapting well to gauge the pace at which Jeho played. Payas led 3-0 before dropping the next. However, he fixed it then and there to enter the final.
His opponent in the final, Yashansh Malik, nicely absorbed all the pressure mounted on him in the first three games to outwit second-seeded Deepit R. Patil and win 4-3 in a thriller. The two matched each other stroke for stroke, but Deepit took advantage of a callous game plan by Yashansh. However, the Delhi boy became wise after the event to unleash his attacks which brooked no challenge from the Maharashtra lad as the third seed neutralised his rival’s 3-0 gain. In the decider, a confident Yashansh stroked his way to reach the final.
In the other quarters, Jeho and Deepit won against their opponents 4-0.
Results:
Youth U-19 Boys Singles: Final: Payas Jain (Del) bt Yashansh Malik (Del) 11-4, 11-7, 11-8, 11-9.
Semi-finals: Payas Jain bt H. Jeho (Miz) 11-4, 11-6, 11-6, 7-11, 11-8; Yashansh Mali bt Deepit R Patil (Mah) 7-11, 3-11, 9-11, 11-4, 11-9, 11-5, 11-7.
Quarterfinals: Payas Jain bt Jash Modi (Mah) 11-8, 11-7, 11-7, 11-6; H. Jeho bt Aadarsh Om Chetri (Del) 11-5, 11-5, 11-8, 12-10; Yashansh Malik bt Varun Shanker (Telg) 13-11, 11-7, 11-2, 11-6; Deepit R Patil bt Ansh Goel (MP) 11-6, 11-5, 11-9, 11-4.
Youth U-19 Girls Singles: Final: Suhana Saini (Har) bt Yashaswini Ghorpade (Kar) 5-11, 11-9, 11-8, 6-11, 11-9, 13-11.
Semi-finals: Yashaswini Ghorpade bt Vanshika Bhargava (Del) 11-5, 11-7, 11-8, 11-6; Suhana Saini bt Diya Chitale (Mah) 10-12, 7-11, 8-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-8, 11-9.
Quarterfinals: Vanshika Bhargava bt Swastika Ghosh (AAI) 14-12, 11-2, 11-0, 11-0 (conceded); Yashaswini Ghorpade bt Radhapria Goel (UP) 11-8, 11-6, 11-4, 12-10; Suhana Saini bt Taneesha Kotecha (Mah) 13-11, 7-11, 11-7, 10-12, 7-11, 11-5, 12-10; Diya Chitale bt Lakshita Narang (Del) 11-8, 11-5, 11-5, 11-9.
