Dharamshala, November 18: All four titles were laid on the tables for Tamil Nadu to take. But then Tharun Shanmugam was guilty of throwing both his singles that eventually forced the state satisfy itself with the other three titles in the UTT 81st Cadet and Sub-Junior National Table Tennis Championships at the Indoor Stadium here today.

Maharahtra A, helped by Aadil Anand in particular and later helped by Havish Asrani, ensured that they went home with the Sub-Junior Boys crown with 3-2 triumph. In fact, Rajveer Shah ensured that the fifth rubber did not slip off his hands against Tharun Shanmugam.

As much as Preyesh Raj Suresh tried with all the tricks in his bag, he was unable to support and sustain in the crucial doubles, though Preyesh won both his singles. These wins were the only heartening aspects of the final for Tamil Nadu.

Aadil, playing brilliantly with excellent counters, surprised left-handed Tharun in the first rubber in straight games. In the second, Preyesh was too good to restore parity but it was the doubles that cost Tamil Nadu dear.

But they need not despair. Instead, they should derive fulfillment as their paddlers across other categories displayed a cool demeanor throughout without being hustled. That really took care of the confidence of each member of the teams. Besides, the consistency they exhibited from Day 1 also made them deserving candidates to lift the team trophies.

As for the matches in Cadet Boys and Cadet Girls finals, Tamil Nadu teams rolled past their opponents with 3-0 verdicts.

P.B. Abhinand and Umesh Kumar proved too good for their North Bengal opponents as they straight away went into 2-0 lead before the duo entered the arena for their doubles.

They began somewhat rusty, probably Abhinand having finished his second singles just a while ago. They did drop the first game but soon hit a nice rhythm as a combine to finish it off in style.

In Cadet Girls, both Sharvani and Hansini dropped a game each but then brought the each rubber under their control and without wasting time put Tamil Nadu 2-0 up. Soon after, they completed the task winning the doubles against Anika Gupta and Suhani Mahajan in straight games.

In fact, both Anika and Suhani did pose some problems early on but the Tamil Nadu paddlers were game for them and soon gauged the pace to nicely settle down. On the other hand, Suhani was particularly guilty of playing fast which only suited Hansini who opened badly.   

Results:

Cadet Boys: Tamil Nadu bt North Bengal 3-0 (Umesh Kumar bt Punit Biswas 11-4, 11-8, 11-9, P.B. Abhinand bt Sangram Sarkar 11-4, 11-9, 11-5, Abhinand/Umesh bt Punit/Sangram 8-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-7).

Cadet Girls: Tamil Nadu bt Uttar Pradesh 3-0 (Sharvani Nagam bt Anika Gupta 11-2, 6-11, 11-6, 11-8, M. Hansini bt Suhani Mahajan 9-11, 11-4, 11-9, 11-9, Sharvani/Hansini b Anika/Suhani 11-8, 11-7, 11-8).

Sub-Junior Boys: Maharashtra A bt Tamil Nadu 3-2 (Aadil Anand bt Tharun Shanmugam 11-9, 11-8, 11-7, Rajveer Shah lost to Preyesh Raj Suresh 6-11, 7-11, 8-11, Aadil/Havish bt Preyesh/Tharun 11-7, 11-8, 9-11, 11-6, Aadil Anand lost to Preyesh Raj 6-11, 9-11, 8-11, Rajveer Shah bt Tharun Shanmugam 10-12, 11-8, 11-5, 11-6).

Sub-Junior Girls: Tamil Nadu bt Haryana 3-1 (Kavyashree Baskar bt Preksha Vohra 11-6, 11-7, 11-6, Nehal Venkatasamy lost to Suhana Saini 4-11, 5-11, 5-11, Kavyashree/Nehal bt Preksha/Suhana 11-5, 5-11, 11-8, 11-3, Kavyashree Baskar bt Suhana Saini 12-10, 11-5, 11-8).