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Kolkata - Teenager Soumyajit Ghosh and veteran Poulomi Ghatak captured the singles and doubles crowns at the 42nd All-India Inter-Institutional Table Tennis Championships here Monday.
Twenty-year-old Ghosh anointed himself the new men’s singles champion by riding past seasoned campaigner Sharath Kamal 4-1 in the final at the Khudiram Anushilan Kendra. Ghosh had earlier teamed up with Harmeet Desai to win the doubles trophy.
Ghatak accounted for Divya Deshpande 4-1 in the women’s singles title clash before partnering Mouma Das to the doubles triumph.
When Sharath pushed the ball into the net in what was Soumyajit’s third championship point, it was all over. A top-class paddler that he is, Sharath could not but appreciate Soumyajit’s victory and gave him a warm embrace. The title-triumph was worth Rs 75,000 for Soumyajit, who represented India at the recent London Olympics.
The 19-year-old showed plenty of courage and outscored his rival whenever he got the opportunity. Sharath, after opening up a sizeable lead in the first three games conceded the advantage to the youngster who matched the World No. 73 shot for shot.
In the fifth game, the see-saw battle got extended a bit despite Soumyajit leading 10-8. Sharath saved two championship points and seemed determined to take the matter to the next game. But the lead kept changing hands and at 14-13, the end came when Sharath pushed the ball into net. A triumphant Soumyajit threw his hands up in celebration for his first major title.
“This was the best match I ever played. To beat Sharath, I needed to bring out my best and I did exactly that,” he said.
Results: (All Finals)
Men’s singles: Soumyajit Ghosh (PSPB) bt Achanta Sharath Kamal (PSPB)
4-1 (15-13, 11-7, 11-9, 9-11, 15-13).
Doubles: Harmeet Desai/Soumyajit Ghosh (PSPB) bt Devesh Karia/Sayan
Paul Roy (CRSB) 4-1 (10-12, 13-11, 11-8, 11-8).
Women’s singles: Poulomi Ghatak (PSPB) bt Divya Deshpande (PSPB) 4-1
(10-12, 11-7, 11-8, 11-7, 11-8).
Doubles: Poulomi Ghatak/Mouma Das (PSPB) bt K. Shamini/Mousmi Paul (PSPB) 3-2 (10-12, 10-12, 11-2, 12-10, 12-10).
