Vadodara, December 12: Bhatnagar International School from Delhi, led by Payas Jain and Yashansh Malik, emerged the Senior Boys champion when they beat Goa’s Loyola High School 3-1 to lift the glittering trophy in the final of the 11Even Sports Inter-School National Championships which concluded at the Sama Indoor Complex here today.

The Senior Girls crown went to Siliguri Girls High School upgraded themselves to claim the crown in what was a painfully long duel. The Siliguri girls beat SBOA School from Tamil Nadu 3-1, after having finished runners-up in the previous edition.

Nikita Sarkar picked her reverse singles last three points when M Yazhini made the cardinal blunder of pushing too much and too far when situation demanded an attacking game.  But what helped the Tamil Nadu school’s hopes alive was their doubles win over the North Bengal pair of Nikita and Diksa Biswas which V. Vaishnavi and R. Trisha won 3-2.  But with the entire burden on Nikita, she saw to it that she kept her cool and won both her singles.

After Yashansh was surprised by Wesley, Payas made it 1-1 when he beat Jatlen 3-0 and then the two Vasant Kunj schoolboys mixed well to go 2-1 following their doubles win. Yet, when Wesley took on Payas in the reverse singles, the latter was all over his rival who had no clue to Payas’ blistering forehands. No doubt, southpaw Wesley did all that was possible of him but it was too little to undo the Delhi boy on this day.

However, it was surprising that Jamnabai Narsee School had to return home without a trophy to show this year. They had won both Senior Boys and Junior Boys titles in the inaugural edition at Indore.

In fact, after their exit in the semifinals, the only consolation was the presence of Nalanda Public School from Thane, Maharashtra, but even their hopes were dashed when Kalyani Public School’s Prithoki Chakraborty and Oishiki Joardar denied them the chance of laying their hands on the glittering winner’s trophy with an emphatic 3-0 verdict in the final. It was a completely one-sided match with some resistance from the Maharashtra side coming only in the doubles. 

In Junior Boys, Karantaka’s Sri Kumaran Children’s Home beat the stuffing out of UP’s Cambridge Convent 3-2, thanks to the former’s crucial doubles win. With Sujan Bharadwaj and Jagdish Aakash Kale Gowda in their ranks, things became rather easy as the two combined well to outwit their rivals that had this year’s Cadet champion in Divyansh Srivastava.

Earlier in Senior Boys first semifinal, fourth seed Bhatnagar International School upset top-seeded Jamnabai Narsee School (Maharashtra) 3-2, but not before the Delhi boys had to regroup themselves in the face of fantastic doubles and reverse singles win by Jamnabai boy. Left-handed Dev Shroff, in particular, gave them a semblance of chance after Delhi led 2-0. On the other hand, Wesley Do Rossario ensured second-seeded Loyola High School from Goa the final entry when they beat Techno India School from North Bengal 3-1 in the other semifinal. 

In Senior Girls, SBOA from Tamil Nadu moved into the final after accounting for Maharishi Vidya Mandir from Assam 3-0 and Siliguri High School from West Bengal beat Jamnabai Narsee School 3-1. In the Junior Girls section, No. 4 seed Nalanda Public School from Maharashtra blanked out top-seed Jermel’s Academy 3-0 while unseeded Kalyani Public School from West Bengal sent second-seeded Scholars Rosary from Haryana with a 3-1 verdict.

Cambridge Convent form UP defeated local team Navrachna School 3-1 and Sri Kumaran Children’s Home from Karantaka downed Maharaja Agrasen School from Rajasthan 3-1 in Junior Boys.

Results:

Junior Boys: Final: Sri Kumaran Children’s Home (Kar) bt Cambridge Convent (UP) 3-2 (Aakash KJ lost to Divyansh Srivastava 12-14, 12-14, 9-11, Sujan Bharadwaj bt Chinmoy 11-2, 11-6, 11-2, Srikanth/Sujan bt Divyansh/Chinmoy 12-10, 11-4, 11-6, Sujan Bharadwaj lost to Divyansh 13-15, 8-11, 8-11, Aakash KJ bt Chinmoy 11-5, 11-6,11-4); Semifinals: Cambridge Convent (UP) bt Navrachana (Guj) 3-1, Sri Kumaran Children’s Home (Kar) bt Maharaja Agrasen (Raj) 3-1; Quarterfinals: Cambridge Convent (UP) bt Jamnabai Narsee 3-1, Navrachana (Guj) bt Techno India (NB) 3-2, Sri Kumaran Children’s Home (Kar) bt DPS (Har) 3-0, Maharaja Agrasen (Raj) bt St Paul’s HS (Telg) 3-0.

Junior Girls: Final: Kalyani Public School (WB) bt Nalanda Public School (Mah) 3-0 (Oishiki Joardar bt Meghna Mandar 11-6, 11-6, 16-14, Prithoki Chakraborty bt Aarya Yogesh S 11-4, 11-3, 11-5, Oishi/Prithoki bt Meghna/Aarya 11-9, 11-9, 8-11, 11-8); Semifinals: Nalanda Public School (Mah) bt Jermel’s Academy (NB) 3-0, Kalyani Public School (WB) bt Scholars Rosary (Har) 3-1; Quarterfinals: Jermel’s Academy (NB) bt SICA Senior Secondary School (MP) 3-1, Nalanda Public School (Mah) bt Bharathidhasanar (TN) 3-0, Kalyani Public School (WB) bt GM Donda (Guj) 3-0, Scholars Rosary (Har) bt DPS (Kar) 3-1.

Senior Boys: Finals: Bhatnagar International (Del) bt Loyola High School (Goa) 3-1 (Yashansh Malik lost to Wesley Do Rossario 11-9, 8-11, 5-11, 11-4, 6-11, Payas Jain bt Jatlen Gomes 11-2, 11-1, 11-5, Yashansh/Payas bt Wesley/Jatlen 5-11, 11-5, 11-7, 7-11, 11-7, Payas Jain bt Wesley Do Rossario 11-5, 11-8, 11-5); Semifinals: Loyola High School (Goa) bt Techno India (NB) 3-1; Bhatnagar International (Del) bt Jamnabai Narsee (Mah) 3-2.

Quarterfinals: Jamnabai Narsee (Mah) bt SBOA School (TN) 3-1, Bhatnagar International (Del) bt Rabindra Path Bhavan (WB) 3-1, Techno India (NB) bt LG Kakadia (Guj) 3-2, Loyola High School (Goa) bt St Paul Hr Sec School (MP) 3-1. 

Senior Girls: Final: Siliguri Girls High School (NB) bt SBOA School (TN) 3-1 (Nikita Sarkar bt V. Vaishnavi 11-4, 11-5, 11-3, Diksa Biswas b M Yazhini 11-9, 11-9, 3-11, 12-10, Nikita/Diksa lost to Vaishnavi/R. Trisha 8-11,8-11, 12-10, 11-9, 6-11, Nikita Sarkar bt M. Yazhini 9-11, 14-12, 11-8, 11-7); Semifinals: Siliguri Girls High School (NB) bt Jamnabai Narsee (Mah) 3-1, SBOA School (TN) bt Maharishi Vidya Mandir (Asm) 3-0; Quarterfinals: Maharishi Vidya Mandir (Asm) bt Udgam School (Guj) 3-2, SBOA School (TN) bt Naihhiti Adarsh Vidya Niketan (WB) 3-2, Jamnabai Narsee (Mah) bt Learning Paths (Pun) 3-0, Siliguri Girls HS (NB) bt Sri Aurobindo (Kar) 3-0.