Hyderabad, April 7: Deepesh Singh of Telangana made the biggest upset of the tournament when he defeated Srivats Chakravarthy of IA&AD 3-2 in the Men's 40+ team event in the UTT 30th Masters National Table Tennis Championships at the SaroorNagar Indoor Stadium today.

This quarterfinal win upset the applecart of IA&AD, the title-holders, as Deepesh and teammates V. Chandrachud and Zubair Farooqui sent their rivals packing and out of medal reckoning for the first time in several years.

Zubair opened the proceedings when he beat Abu Rizwan 3-2, and Chandrachud consolidated the position by winning the second rubber against Sujay Chaturvedi 3-1. But the onus was on Deepesh to see through his side into the medal round.

But the bespectacled Deepesh was caught on the wrong foot and lost the first two games. Down 0-2, he got caught in a pit before extricating himself to win the third game. That gave him the confidence, and from there, he gained the strength to win the next two games to hand out a shocking defeat. Deepesh won 2-11, 4-11, 11-8, 11-9, 16-14. He cashed in on his third match-point and pulled the shutters on IA&AD.

Abu and Srivats have been very consistent over the years, and their team's fortune depended on the two stalwarts. But it was not to be on the day. 

Maharashtra pair wins

Mythili Sodhi and Rajeshwari Mhetre of Maharashtra outsmarted Chhaya Yadav and Rita Jain from Madhya Pradesh to win the women's doubles 65+ final.

The Maharashtra pair began the nail-biting showdown on a wrong note when they lost the first game badly. But the duo came back strongly to take a 2-1 lead. Most importantly, the extended second-game win proved crucial for them as they gained the upper hand. But the Madhya Pradesh players fought well in the fourth game and levelled the score after the deuce.

Both pairs went neck and neck, but the Maharashtra duo seized the moments well to win the crucial game with minimal points.  

Results:

Women’s Doubles (65+): Mythili Sodhi/Rajeshwari Mhetre (Mah) bt Chhaya Yadav/Rita Jain (MP) 6-11, 12-10, 11-9, 10-12,      11-9.