PSPB retain men's and women's titles at the All-India Institutional Table Tennis Championships

Soumyajit Ghosh

New Delhi, July 30 Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) retained both the men and women's team events in the 45th All-India Institutional Table Tennis Championships at the Thyagraj Stadium here on Thursday.

PSPB men defeated Railways Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) 3-0 while the women scrapped past Reserve Bank of India (RBI) 3-2. With the triumphs, the PSPB men have claimed the championship for the 14th time while the women have triumphed on 12 occasions.

The PSPB's men, comprising national champion Soumyajit Ghosh, runner-up G. Sathiyan and an equally graceful Harmeet Desai, made it a no-match against the hosts as even the most experienced Anirban Nandi from Railways was unable to win a game.

PSPB, afraid of trying out a new combination, has been banking heavily on the experienced lot. But on Thursday the think-tank almost paid a heavy price for their overconfidence when RBI's women, appearing in their first final, gave them a mighty scare. Ankita Das though guided PSPB and helped retain the title against a nervy Sweta Parte.

RBI may have lost the title narrowly, but taking PSPB the full distance should augur well for the team. Additionally, they will now join PSPB as the second team to have qualified for the senior nationals at Hyderabad in January 2016.

Earlier in the day, Dena Bank's Youth Boys confirmed their maiden team title after completing their league engagements.

Results:

Men: Final: PSPB bt RSPB 3-0 (Soumyajit Ghosh bt Ravindra Kotiyan 11-4, 13-11, 11-4, G. Sathiyan bt Noel Pinto 11-7, 13-11, 12-10, Harmeet Desai bt Anirban Nandi 11-5, 11-8, 12-10).

Women: Final: PSPB bt RBI 3-2 (Ankita Das lost to Krittwika Sinha Roy 8-11, 7-11,7-11, Mouma Das bt Sweta Parte 11-8, 5-11, 11-5, 7-11, 11-7, K. Shamini bt Shruti Talnikar 11-7, 12-10, 11-5, Mouma Das lost to Krittwika Sinha Roy 4-11, 8-11, 12-10, 13-15, Ankita Das bt Sweta Parte 11-8, 11-7, 11-7).