Gandhidham, October 18: Top-seeded G. Sathiyan, who lost the Central Zone men’s singles title by a whisker, redeemed himself in a big way to beat No. 2 seed and national champion Sanil Shetty 4-1 in the final of the Indian Oil National Ranking (West Zone) Table Tennis Championships at the KDTTA indoor stadium here today. Sathiyan had lost the crucial final to Gujarat’s Devesh Karia at Indore.

Earlier, Suthirtha Mukherjee feasting on Manika Batra’s follies claimed the women’s singles championship with an identical 4-1 margin. The winners received Rs. 66,000 and Rs. 55,000, respectively for their wonderful efforts.

Sathiyan was in a rampaging form against an attacking Shetty but the latter could not come to terms against the blistering pace that his PSPB teammate had set, despite winning the second game. In the crucial fifth game, Sathiyan was down and out at 4-8 before he caught up with Shetty to make it 8-9 and then level 10-10. From there, the dice rolled only one way and Sathiyan threw his arms up when Shetty’s backhand went away.

Suthirtha did exceeding well to keep Manika from any harm taking a 2-0 lead. Though Manika took the next game, she was always found wanting against a determined Suthirtha, who reeled out several forehand winners on the day.

Grover, Senhora win crown

In the Youth Boys singles final, PSPB’s Sudhanshu Grover won against teammate Abhishek Yadav 4-2 to claim the title, while Maharashtra’s Senhora D’Souza defeated Karnataka’s Archana Kamath by the same margin to win the crown.

Grover, who missed the Central Zone event for personal reasons, was in good form and it showed when he took on left-handed Abhishek. Playing a fast game, the two aroused enough interest but Sudhanshu had a nice ball control and good shot selections. On the other hand, Abhishek was unable to execute his forehands as well as he normally does. Even his backhand play on the day was awful leaving no room for him to recover.

Though Senhora had a 2-0 cushion, the Junior Girls winner Archana regrouped herself to stretch her experienced opponent somewhat. With Archana unable to win early points in the sixth, there was no real threat to Senohra who comfortably won in the end.

Sathiyan had almost squandered a comfortable 3-1 and 9-7 lead in the fifth game to let Anirban Nandi stage a remarkable comeback to stretch the No. 1 seed in the semis. But luckily for Sathiyan, he played brilliantly and celebrated every point against the RSPB player as the match stretched to the decider. They were 8-all but Sathiyan without wasting time went 10-8 up and served out for the match.

But credit must be given to Nandi for making Sathiyan work hard for each and every point from the time he levelled the score. As for the second semifinal, it was Sanil Shetty show from beginning to end. The southpaw was too hot for Subhajit Saha handle. The latter was unable to exploit the angles created by Shetty and that was also his weaklink.

Suthirtha Mukherjee and Manika Batra had a similar 4-2 wins over their semifinal rivals Mouma Das, the winner of Central Zone, and Ankita Das. Though there were a lot of similarities in their triumphs, what separated the two winners was the way the two approached their matches—Suthirtha was more precise with hers gtrokes while Mania, a bit lazy.

Frenaz goes down fighting

Earlier, local girl Frenaz Chipia, representing Dena Bank, had no business to go down the way she did in the semifinals against Maharashtra’s Senhora D’ Souza after surging ahead with a 3-1 lead. The brave Dena Bank girl began with attack and finished the game in the same vein but was unlucky not to have reached the final.

Senhora was definitely at the receiving end until the fourth game. Playing in front of the home crowd, Frenaz had a lot of vocal support and it helped her win crucial points. In fact, the crown support for the Dena Bank girl worked wonders that she came back nicely to take the fourth game after conceding the one before to Senhora.

But what mattered in the ultimately analysis was the percentage table tennis that the Maharashtra girl played when the occasion demanded. Upping the ante, Senhora narrowed in on with the fifth game. There in the sixth, she first leveled and won it after stretching her opponent. When the issue came to the decider, her experience took the better of her as Frenaz lost it by the narrowest margin. Nevertheless, Frenaz had given something for the local crown to whet their appetite.

Results:

Men’s Singles: Final: G.Sathiyan (PSPB) bt Sanil Shetty (PSPB) 4-1 (11-9, 8-11, 12-10, 11-4, 12-10); Semifinals: G. Sathiyan (PSPB) bt Anirban Nandi (RSPB) 4-3 (11-9, 9-11, 11-6, 11-6, 10-12, 9-11, 11-8), Sanil Shetty (PSPB) bt Subhajit Saha (PSPB) 4-0 (11-5, 11-9, 11-6, 11-4).

Women’s Singles: Final: Suthirtha Mukherjee (PSPB) bt Manika Batra (PSPB) 4-1 (12-10, 11-3, 8-11, 14-12, 11-9);Semifinals: Suthirtha Mukherjee (PSPB) bt Mouma Das (PSPB) 4-2 (11-13, 11-9, 8-11, 11-8, 16-14, 11-4), Manika Batra (PSPB) bt Ankita Das (PSPB) 4-2 (4-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-7, 6-11, 11-4).

Youth Boys Singles: Final: Sudhanshu Grover (PSPB) bt Abhishek Yadav (PSPB) 4-2 (11-4, 9-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-9); Semifinals: Abhishek Yadav (PSPB) bt Nishaad Shah (AI) 4-2 (11-2, 11-4, 9-11, 11-4, 5-11, 12-10), Sudhanshu Grover (PSPB) bt Siddhesh Pande (Mah) 4-3 (12-10, 11-8, 9-11, 9-11, 11-3, 6-11, 11-6).

Youth Girls Singles: Final: Senhora D’Souza (Mah) bt Archana Kamath (Kar) 4-2 (11-6, 11-8, 3-11, 11-5, 7-11, 11-6);Semifinals: Senhora D’Souza (Mah) bt Frenaz Chipia (DB) 4-3 (11-3, 8-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-5, 12-10, 11-9), Archana Kamath (Kar) bt Moumita Dutta (WB) 4-2 (8-11, 11-8, 11-8, 8-11, 11-1, 11-8).