Manush Shah had a busy day on Sunday. In the final of the junior boys category, he dominated the final against Payas Jain of Delhi. An hour later, he went a notch up and claimed the youth title as well.
The paddler from Gujarat made most of the chance that he created in the semifinals to beat Manav Thakkar and later beat Ronit Bhanja 4-1 in the youth category at the 80th Junior and Youth National Table Tennis Championships which concluded at the DPS Hall in Sonipat on Sunday.
But Prapti Sen was not as lucky. She captured the junior title but gave in to the pressure applied by Maharashtra’s Shruti Amrute, who won the youth crown with a 4-2 victory.
Manush, putting his tiredness behind, defeated Ronit Bhanja of West Bengal despite being stretched in the first game. Exploiting the angles and executing his shots to perfection he posed a lot of problems for Bhanja.
In the junior’s final, Manush continued the trend to beat Payas Jain in straight games. The confidence of the Gujarat left-hander was impeccable and his free-flowing strokes were always difficult for the opponent to handle. The Delhi boy, who played well throughout and even led his team to the first title, could not overcome the powerful Manush.
In the girls category, a visibly tired Prapti was full of mistakes but credit should go to Shruti who attacked well to unsettle her rival despite losing the first game. Leading 3-1, the left-handed Maharashtra girl slowed down a bit when Prapti was on the path of recovery to win her second game.
But with momentum on Shruti’s side, she closed in quickly, taking a 6-1 lead in the sixth game. That was indication for things to come as Shruti wrapped it with minimum efforts for her maiden youth title.
But Prapti did take home the junior’s title against a struggling Anusha Kutambale of Madhya Pradesh 4-1. Playing close to the table, she had a complete control of her shots and executed well even during crunch situations like the one she faced against Diya Chitale in the semifinals.
Earlier, in the first semifinal defending champion and top-seeded Thakkar lost to Manush after the latter made a fine recovery from 1-3 to win 4-3.
The Gujarat left-hander countered Manav so well that the top-seed wilted under pressure. In the other semifinal, Ronit Bhanja made it a one-sided affair against PSPB’s Jeet Chandra, winning in straight games.
Results:
Youth Boys: Final: Manush Shah (Guj) bt Ronit Bhanja (WB) 18-16, 12-10, 10-12, 11-4, 11-5; Semifinals: Manush Shah bt Manav Thakkar (PSPB) 5-11, 6-11, 11-7, 7-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-7, Ronit Bhanja bt Jeet Chandra (PSPB) 11-8, 12-10, 11-2, 11-7
Doubles Final: Manav Thakkar-Siddesh Pande (PSPB) bt Abhimanyu Mitra-Ronit Bhanja (WB) 9-11, 11-6, 11-4, 11-6
Youth Girls: Final: Shruti Amrute (Mah) bt Prapti Sen (PSPB) 8-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-3, 8-11, 11-4; Semifinals: Prapti Sen bt Anjali Rohilla (Har) 11-4, 11-4, 13-11, 11-3, Shruti Amrute bt Naina (Telg) 11-6, 13-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-8
Doubles Final: Surbhi Patwari-Poymantee Baisya (WB) bt Selenadeepthi Selvakumar-Swastika Ghosh (AAI) 11-8, 12-10, 9-11, 11-9
Junior Boys: Final: Manush Shah (Guj) bt Payas Jain (Del) 11-6, 11-7, 11-7, 13-11; Semifinals: Payas Jain bt Raegan Albuquerque (Mah) 11-9, 11-8, 5-11, 16-14,11-2, Mansh Shah bt Deepit R. Patil (Mah) 11-7, 11-6, 11-6, 11-2
Doubles Final: Chinmaya Somaiya-Raegan Albuquerque (Mah) bt Deepit R Patil-Dev Shroff (Mah) 10-12, 11-7, 9-11, 12-10, 13-11
Junior Girls: Final: Prapti Sen (PSPB) bt Anusha Kutumbale (MP) 13-11, 7-11, 11-4, 11-7, 12-10; Semifinals: Prapti Sen bt Diya Chitale 11-9, 11-6, 9-11, 10-12, 11-5, 12-10, Anusha Kutumbale bt Manushree Patil (Mah) 11-8, 11-9, 7-11, 11-5, 11-4
Doubles Final: Manushree Patil-Diya Chitale (Mah) bt Mummun Kundu-Poymantee Baisya (WB) 11-9, 4-11, 11-8, 12-10
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!