Mohali: Even as Preyesh Raj Suresh of Tamil Nadu returned to his winning ways, claiming the Youth Under-17 Boys title, the eccentric Suhana Saini lifted the Youth Under-17 Girls crown in the UTT National Ranking North Zone Table Tennis Championships at the Sports Complex at Sector 78 here today.
The Tamil Nadu boy, who lost his touch in between, struck form against unseeded Shankhadip Das to win the final 4-0. The Bengal boy, who played superbly to reach the final, found it hard right from the word go. He put up some resistance in the second and third games, but not enough to stop the Tamil Nadu left-hander, who served and finished points with precision.
Suhana, who claimed her maiden Under-19 title last week, brought some calmness to her match against Tamil Nadu’s Kavyashree Baskar. As sub-junior rivals, they have had interesting match-ups in the past. But the rise of Suhana has been phenomenal and her form even better after winning three international titles recently.
Despite Kavyashree taking the lead, the Haryana paddler came back strongly to level. The TN girl again seized the opportunity to go 2-1 up but Suhana, by now used to fightbacks, finished the next three games to add another silverware.
Earlier in the afternoon, the two top seeds won their semi-finals in contrasting styles. The Tamil Nadu boy struggled against the fifth seed, Ankur Bhattacharjee, before winning 4-3. However, Suhana dropped one extended game before wrapping it up against Maharashtra’s Risha Mirchandani, a bright prospect.
But it was unseeded Shankhadip Das from Bengal who stroked his way into the final, beating third seed Divyansh Srivastava from UP 4-1. Earlier in the day, the Bengal boy accounted for second seed Aadarsh Om Chetri from Delhi 4-2 to stamp his authority.
Favourite to win the title, Preyesh did not show any such command until his Bengal opponent pushed to the corner with a 3-2 cushion. The left-hander, carrying enough ammunition, was shortchanged often by Ankur, using the flanks well. Even his reliable service seemed to have deserted the Tamil Nadu boy, and he was getting caught in his web. Nevertheless, sanity returned soon.
In the sixth game, Preyesh did what he does best. He served and returned well and, using used his potent backhand, scored maximum points. More than that, he was able to wear his opponent out, forcing him to commit errors. In the decider, it became a cakewalk for the southpaw.
But Suhana had none of those problems. She did concede the second game to her Maharashtrian rival when the latter managed to stretch her. After that, the Haryana paddler had a firm grip which she never loosened. In the quarterfinals, too, Suhana was stretched. But she withstood the pressure mounted on her by Pritha Vartikar of Maharashtra.
Kavyashree Baskar from Tamil Nadu accounted for Jennifer Varghese, another girl from Maharashtra in straight games. Before that, she had beaten Riddhima Kapoor from Delhi 4-2 in the quarterfinals. On the day as many as nine seeds—three girls and six boys—bowed out of contests.
Results:
Youth Under-17 Boys: Final: Preyesh Raj Sures (TNTTA) bt Shankhadip Das (Ben) 11-6, 11-8, 11-8, 11-5.
Semi-finals: Preyesh Raj Suresh bt Ankur Bhattacharjee (Ben) 11-7, 8-11, 11-7, 9-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-4; Shankhadip Das (Ben) bt Divyansh Srivastava (UP) 2-11, 11-5, 12-10, 11-8, 11-7.
Quarterfinals: Preyesh bt K.J. Akash (Kar) 11-4, 11-9, 11-5, 11-5; Ankur bt Jash Modi (Mah) 11-7, 11-7, 5-11, 11-9, 11-3; Divyansh bt Samyak Kashyap (Mar) 13-11, 11-4, 11-6, 11-9; Shankhadip Das bt Aadarsh Om Chetri (Del) 9-11, 11-6, 2-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-8.
Youth Under-17 Girls: Final: Suhana Saini (Har) bt Kavyashree Baskar (TTTA) 6-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-9, 11-9, 12-10.
Semi-finals: Suhana Saini bt Risha Mirchandani (Mah) 11-4, 12-14, 11-9, 11-6, 11-5; Kavyashree Baskar bt Jennifer Varghese (Mah) 11-8, 11-9, 11-8, 11-6.
Quarterfinals: Suhana bt Pritha Vartikar (AAI) 11-3, 11-9, 5-11, 11-2, 11-9; Risha Mirchandani bt Nandini Saha (Ben) 11-9, 11-8, 12-10, 10-12, 11-7; Kavyashree bt Riddhima Kapoor (Del) 11-9, 11-5, 6-11, 11-5, 8-11, 11-5; Jennifer bt Srijita Shaw (Ben) 12-10, 11-8, 12-10, 9-11, 11-1.
