Shillong, June 18: When you have a reservoir of young talent and well supported by a systematic training programme, the results are always rewarding. So it was not surprising when the Indian boys and girls, in all the four categories, made a sweep of the team titles on offer in the ongoing SAF Junior Table Tennis Championships at the Jawaharlal Nehru Sports Complex indoor hall here today.

By finishing atop, the junior boys and girls also booked their passage for the Asian Junior Championships, to be held at Jiangyin (China) between July 11 and 16. With two teams in the junior sections going through, the boys from Nepal, who finished with silver, made their maiden entry into the Asian Juniors.

Sri Lanka, who were the real contender for the second slot in the boys’ category, had to be satisfied with their girls making the grade. No doubt, the Nepalese boys played really well, but the Lankans were done in by the late arrival to Meghalaya capital and having to play immediately without any rest.

Coming back to the boys win in the final, the Nepalese proved to be a mismatch as the results would indicate. Indeed, Abhiskeh Yadav started in style but became a little edgy in the second game to be extended a bit by Bilash Shrestha when the latter for the first time led 10-9. The Indian, however, steadied to control his forehand smashes to win 12-10. There onwards it was Yadav’s show as he put India 1-0 ahead with a 11-5, 12-10, 11-3 win.  Sudhanshu Grover defeated Mani Lama 11-2, 11-, 6, 11-6 and Vivek Bhargav completed the assault with 11-6, 11-4, 11-9 win over Anish Shrestha and the gold.

Coach Sandeep Gupta while praising the Nepalese opponents said the competitive edge in the final was lacking. “Our boys could have done still better if they had stiffer opponents. That would have given us a chance to assess how good they are faced with greater opposition,” he said.

The coach, however, warned that the Asian juniors will be a tough competition and the boys will have to prepare themselves well to meet the challenge.

In other categories, which are played on single-group league formats, the Indians not only kept a clean slate against their opponents but also saw to it that they didn’t lose a single game. They just about went through motions and decimated their rivals with 3-0 verdicts. Of course, there were some matches in which the Indians were stretched but none of the players allowed their opponents any luxury of taking a game off them.

That, in a nutshell, proves the roller-coaster ride of India’s young paddlers’ and their supremacy in the region.    

Meanwhile, the qualifiers in singles events began today.  

The results (team):

Boys’: Junior - Final: India 3 bt Nepal 0 (Abhishek Yadav bt Bilas Shrestha 11-5, 12-10, 11-3; Sudhanshu Grover bt Mani Lama 11-2, 11-6, 11-6; Vivek Bhargava bt Anish Shrestha 11-6, 11-4, 11-9). Semifinals: India bt Sri Lanka 3-0; Nepal bt Pakistan 3-2.  League: Group B - Sri Lanka bt Nepal 3-0.

Cadet -  Nepal bt Sri Lanka 3-1; India bt Bhutan 3-0; Sri Lanka bt Bangladesh 3-1; India bt Nepal 3-0; Sri lanka bt Bhutan 3-0; Bangladesh bt Nepal 3-0; India bt Sri Lanka 3-0.

Final team standings: 1. India - 8 points, 2. Sri Lanka - 7, 3. Bangladesh - 6.

Girls’: Junior -  Sri Lanka bt Nepal 3-0; India bt Nepal 3-0; Sri Lanka bt Bangladesh 3-0; India bt Sri Lanka 3-0; Pakistan bt Nepal 3-1.

Final team standings: 1. India - 8, 2. Sri Lanka - 7, 3. Nepal - 5.

Cadet - Sri Lanka bt Nepal 3-0; India bt Sri Lanka 3-0.

Final team standings: 1. India - 4, 2. Sri Lanka - 3, 3. Nepal - 2.