Jammu, March 22: Tamil Nadu women fought till the last and emerged as worthy winners to enter the semi-finals of the 84th UTT Inter-State National Table Tennis Championships at the Gymnasium Hall of Jammu University here today.

The other teams that joined them in the semi-finals included RBI, PSPB and Delhi. 

The quarterfinal between Tamil Nadu and West Bengal finished five minutes short of four hours. At the end of the match, Tamil Nadu turned the tables on West Bengal 3-2 to ensure a bronze medal for the squad. In doing so, Yashini Shivashankar played a stellar role and won both her singles, giving Tamil Nadu the edge. Incidentally, Yashini is the only surviving player and represented her state in the last Nationals in Shillong, where the state finished with bronze medals.

West Bengal women, who ended up with the bronze, bowed out without a medal after their star player and former national champion, Sutirtha Mukherjee, failed against Yashini in their second singles. That proved to be West Bengal's Achilles heel, as Kowshika Venkatesan beat Moumita Datta 3-1 to wrap it up for the southern state.

Sutirtha put WB up when she beat Kowshika 3-1, but Yashini restored parity when she downed Moumita Datta 11-8, 5-11, 5-11, 15-13, 11-9. Kavyashree was well set to put TN ahead but lost an intense tie 11-8, 5-11, 12-10, 16-18, 8-11 to Prapti Sen. That was when Yashini played her part, beating Sutirtha 8-11, 5-11, 13-11, 11-9, 12-10, after trailing 0-2 in the fourth rubber. Kaushika, in the crucial last rubber, led 2-0 but dropped a game against Moumita. Soon, she changed her strategy and attacked at the first opportunity to accumulate her points and stopped Moumita well short in the fourth game.

But for the lone knockout match, RBI beat Haryana, and PSPB downed Madhya Pradesh 3-0, respectively, while Delhi defeated last year's runners-up Maharashtra 3-1 to enter the medal rounds. The onus was on Swastika Ghosh and Taneesha Kotecha to put it across Delhi. But Swastika lost both her singles, first to Lakshika Narang 12-14, 7-11, 11-9, 15-13, 5-11, and to Vanshika Bhargava in straight games, killing whatever ambitions they nurtured before the match. Vanshika came to herself in the quarters and won her singles against Shruti Amrute 10-12, 11-6, 11-7, 9-11, 11-8, before accounting for Swastika 11-9, 12-10, 12-10.

In the men's quarterfinals, runners-up Railways sent Meghalaya Nationals silver medallists Maharashtra packing with a 3-1 verdict, defending champions PSPB beat West Bengal 3-1, Delhi thrashed UP 3-0, and Telangana ousted Haryana 3-0 to enter the semi-finals.

Later in the afternoon, the Lt. Governor of Jammu and Kashmir UT, Manoj Sinha, felicitated nine paddlers, which included the Padma Shri, Khel Ratna, Arjuna and Dronacharya awardees, at a glittering function, presenting them with shawls and mementoes. 

Lauding their efforts in bringing laurels to the country and keeping the tricolour flying high in the international arena, the LG said they are the inspirations to hundreds of thousands of athletes of the country who should emulate them. "These people have again and again that India can compete and win against the best in table tennis. They are role models for aspiring athletes in the country," he said.

The players facilitated included A. Sharath Kamal—Padma Shree, and a Khel Ratna awardee—Padma Shree Mouma Das, Khel Ratna Manika Batra, Arjuna awardees Kamlesh Mehta, Monalisa Barua Mehta, G. Sathiyan, Soumyajit Ghosh, Sreeja Akula, and Dronacharya S. Raman.

Among the dignitaries on the dais was Satbir Singh, a member of the junior selection panel.

Results (Team Events):

Men: Quarterfinals: PSPB bt West Bengal 3-1; Delhi bt Uttar Pradesh 3-0; Telangana bt Haryana 3-0; RSPB bt Maharashtra 3-1.

Women: Quarterfinals: RBI bt Haryana 3-0; Delhi bt Maharashtra 3-1; Tamil Nadu bt West Bengal 3-1; PSPB bt Madhya Pradesh 3-0.