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Harmeet Desai and Diya Chitale were crowned champions in the men's and women's singles category respectively at the UTT National Ranking (Central Zone) Table Tennis Championships.
Harmeet defeated Manush Shah 4-3 (11-9, 11-8, 8-11, 7-11, 6-11, 11-6, 11-5) in a thrilling final. Fifth-seed Diya outsmarted second-seed Reeth Rishya 4-3 (7-11, 11-7, 8-11, 12-10, 7-11, 12-11, 11-8). Diya's match witnessed excellent rallies and attacking approach by both paddlers.
It was Harmeet's second singles title, while for Diya it was her maiden trophy.
Harmeet took an early 2-0 lead before Manush caught up with him to restore parity. Soon after, the latter surged into a 3-2 lead, giving Harmeet a scare.
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However, Harmeet came up with a strong reply in the last two games to shut out the Gujarat paddler.
In the women's singles final, Diya held her nerves to win a pulsating final. Reeth Rishya saved two match points but could only send the ball out after a couple of rallies in the third to hand the title to Diya.
In the crucial sixth game, Diya was 10-8 up but Reeth saved three game points before the former won the game on her fourth game point to level the match at 3-3.
Also read: Reeth Rishya expresses elation after hard work leads to first pro-tour singles title
The match saw sharp rallies and excellent attacking play and kept everyone on their tenterhooks. Diya fought well and kept her chances alive in the final.
Deepit, Suhana win U-19 titles
Ankur Bhattacharjee of West Bengal defeated Deepit Patil of Maharashtra 4-1 (11-5, 3-11, 11-5, 12-10, 4-11, 11-9) to win the U-19 boys singles title.
Suhana Saini beat Nithyashree Mani of Tamil Nadu 4-2 (11-5, 18-16, 4-11, 11-8, 11-7) to win the U-19 girls singles title.
Ankur proved consistent and managed to lead 3-2 but Deepit took the fifth game when Ankur made many unforced errors. A determined Ankur pulled up his socks to finish the final in style.
Suhana was in sublime touch. The extended second game — in which Suhana won 18-16 — drained Nithyashree out as she failed to hit it off.
The win gave Suhana confidence as she quickly wrapped up the match to add another title to her resume.
