Chennai, February 11: Yashaswini Ghorpade of Karnataka defeated Suhana Saini of Haryana 4-2 to lift the glittering Youth Girls Singles Under-19 trophy in the UTT 84th Inter-State Youth and Junior National Championships at the Nehru Indoor Stadium today.

It was the second National title for Yashaswini, who holds a Sub-Junior National crown won at Chandigarh. The win has come on the back of her perseverance and excellent temperament.

Suhana was up 9-5 in the second game. But Yashaswini took the game with a remarkable rally to go 2-0 up. In the next, the boot was on the other leg, as the Karnataka girl led 7-3 up, but the Haryana girl reaped the benefit by taking eight points on the trot, including some negatives, and narrowed down the margin.

Both the girls slowed down in between, which was against their nature, and bordering on boredom. The tactics did work, but not long, as Suhana made it 2-2 before the Karnataka girl struck back to lead 3-2. She won a tricky fifth game and again led 7-4 before letting Suhana take a 9-7 lead. But a couple of good points took her closer, as she held a championship point which she converted when Suhana put out the ball.

Suhana Saini of Haryana made up for her semi-final loss in Under-17 with a thumping win over her recent nemesis Pritha Vartikar from Maharashtra. The Haryana paddler won 4-1 to enter the Under-19 final, where she clashes with Yashaswini Ghorphade of Karnataka. The latter beat Oishiki Joardar of West Bengal 4-2.

The Karnataka girl led 2-0 before letting Oishiki off the hook to level the scores, desperate to complete the job. She had to pay for it, but she steadied to come back strong and take the next two games.

On the other hand, Suhana hardly broke a sweat to beat Pritha in the first semi-final. It may have something to do with her lack of concentration--she competed in every possible event--and her tired limbs didn't cooperate in crunch situations. But it's taking the credit away from Suhana, who played with strong determination, especially in the second game to go 2-0 up.

Sayanika wins crown

In the postponed Under-17 Girls final, Sayanika Maji of Delhi defeated the overworked Taneesha Kotecha of Maharashtra 4-0. Sayanika's win was not a surprise as she had been consistent and capable of beating the best in business on a given day. However, Taneesha, too, suffered fatigue after playing every event and probably didn't have enough steam to pull off another win.

Title for Delhi pair

Delhi pair Lakshita Narang and Avisha Karmakar came from behind to beat Haryana's Suhana Saini and Prithoki Chakraborty 3-2 in the Under-19 doubles final and lift the trophy.

Delhi girls, 0-2 and 2-6 down in the third game, rallied beautifully to win it 12-10. It was the turning point for them to go from strength to strength and win the next two games to seize their moments on the podium.

Maharashtra's first pair of Taneesha Kotecha and Sayali Wani failed to overcome the fresh legs of Lakishita Narang and Avisha Krmakar from Delhi in the U-19 doubles semi-finals. The Delhi girls won 3-1 in what was a one-sided affair.

In the other semi-final, Suhana Saini and Prithoki Chakraborti of Haryana struggled to beat Maharashtra's Jennifer Varghese and Sampada Bhiwandkar 3-2. The pairs alternated their wins and took the issue to the decider, which the Haryana duo won by a minimal point.

In the U-17 semis, Jennifer and Pritha combined to outwit Suahana and Saanvi Dargan of Haryana in straight games. In the second semi-final, Tamil Nadu's pair of Amrutha Subaash and M. Hansini, playing on the patience of Maharashtra's Taneesha and Risha Mirchandani, entered the final with a 3-2 triumph.

Results (Team):

Youth Girls Singles (U-19): Final: Yashaswini Ghorpade (Kar) bt Suhana Saini (Har) 11-8, 11-9, 7-11, 8-11, 13-11, 11-9.

Semi-finals: Suhana Saini bt Pritha Vartikar (Mah) 11-9, 14-12, 5-11, 11-1, 14-12; Yashaswini Ghorpade bt Oishiki Joardar (WB0 11-7, 12-10, 9-11, 7-11, 11-5, 11-6.

Youth Girls Doubles (U-19): Final: Lakshita Narang/Avisha Karmakar (Del) bt Suhana Saini/Prithoki Chakraborty (Har) 7-11, 5-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-9.

Semi-finals: Lakshita Narang/Avisha Karmakar bt Taneesha Kotecha/Sayali Wani (Mah) 11-7, 11-6, 9-11, 11-9; Suhana Saini/Prithoki Chakraborty bt Jennifer Varghese/Sampada Bhiwandkar (Mah) 11-4, 10-12, 11-8, 7-11, 11-9.

Youth Girls Singles (U-17): Final: Sayanika Maji (Del) bt Taneesha Kotecha (Mah) 11-9, 11-5, 11-9, 11-3.

Youth Girls Doubles (U-17): Final: Jennifer Varghese/Pritha Vartikar (Mah) bt Amrutha Subaash/M. Hansini (TN) 11-7, 11-8, 11-3.

Semi-finals: Jennifer Varghese/Pritha Vartikar bt Suhana Sani/Saanvi Dargan (Har) 11-4, 12-10, 11-6; Amrutha Subaash/M. Hansini bt Taneesha Kotecha/Risha Mirchandani (Mah) 11-9, 11-8, 8-11, 3-11, 11-6.