Visakhapatnam, October 23: So, it will be A. Sharath Kamal versus G. Sathiyan in the men’s singles final of the 11Even Sports National Ranking (South Zone) Table Tennis Championships at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium here today.

The two will be meeting each other in a maiden final and, especially for Sharath, it is the first in a domestic meet that he has entered in a long time. They have met each other twice, once in the semifinal of the Senior Nationals at Hyderabad and again in the team events of the Petroleum Meet, both encounters happening last year. On both occasions, it was Sathiyan who emerged on top.

Of course, Sharath blanked out Harmeet Desai 4-0 but he faced the usual opening and end-game blues. It is another matter that Sharath overcame them with his experience and steely nerves but it could be a tough ask in the final against Sathiyan who outplayed and outscored Jubin Kumar for a 4-0 win.

Sharath Kamal bt Harmeet Desai 14-12, 11-9, 11-9, 14-12

Sathiyan, too, can be vulnerable when put under pressure but he had, in the past, somehow managed to come out of such holes. Now the entire burden is on Saharath. Not that he has to provide any proof of his calibre.  Having decided to give two years to himself before the 2018 CWG, a title here would certainly pep up his comeback thoughts.

SUTHIRTHA UNSTOPPABLE

Suthirtha was unstoppable as Mousumi Paul found it to her chagrin. After losing the final at Rajkot, Mousumi did well to engage her opponent and even manage a game against her. But that was all she could do as Suthirtha cleverly slowed down the pace and Mousumi wilted under pressure. Earlier, the match witnessed some good rallies and fast and furious counters.

After catching Krittwika Sinha Roy on the wrong foot in the first game, Ankita Das failed to match her rival’s blistering strokes, especially her backhand. The Olympian from Siliguri, no doubt, had packed a lot of punches with clever variation but Krittiwika more determined to make amends for her early exit from the West Zone championships.

Both finalists won 4-1.    

Results: 

Men: Semifinals: G. Sathiyan bt Jubin Kumar 11-8, 11-7, 11-8, 11-5, Sharath Kamal bt Harmeet Desai 14-12, 11-9, 11-9, 14-12. 

Women: Semifinals: Suthirtha Mukherjee bt Mousumi Paul 11-8, 8-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-8, Krittwika Sinha Roy bt Ankita Das 9-11, 11-6, 12-10, 11-8, 11-6.