Thane, November 19: Anthony Amalraj proved to be the cleverest of all top players, picking and rightly choosing his international tournaments as well as competing in domestic events. As a result, he completed three top podium finishes in men singles and, of course, top position in the national ranking chart.

In the men final of the 11Sports National Ranking Championships (West) for the Mayor Cup, which concluded at the Dadoji Konddev Stadium here today, he beat local favourite Sanil Shetty 4-1 to wrest his crown. Earlier, he won the South Zone (Dharwad) and East Zone (Siliguri) titles to culminate the season on a more than satisfactory note.

Even as paddlers like Sharath Kmal, Soumyajit Ghosh, G. Sathiyan and Harmeet Desai were playing tournaments and leagues abroad, he preferred the domestic circuit and reaped the rewards. With the kind of consistency he has shown, he is now a certainty for any Team India plans abroad.

Shedding the initial hiccups, Amalraj knew what exactly he had to do against the left-handed Shetty, particularly after goofing it up against Abhimanyu Mitra at Greater Noida. Going on the attack straight away and giving very little room for Sanil, he got his basics right. So much so, even before Sanil could think of any counter-ploy, Amalraj led 3-0. The Mumbai lad did win the fourth but it was too late in the day for any comeback by Sanil, who finished without a title this season.

Sutirtha, who began last season on a grand note, was struggle throughout in spite of pocketing Central Zone title. But on the day, she was more determined and played skilfully to beat Manika Batra 4-1, stopping her from winning the third crown.

Manika won the first game and had every chance to increase the lead but squandered it in the second after deuce. Probably, that must have upset her rhythm and Sutirtha, without playing into her rival’s hands, played positively blocking equally well. The tall Delhi girl was finding it difficult to gain her form which she displayed against Madhurila in the semi-final, and gave up without much fight.

It was some relief to see Sanil Shetty playing authoritatively. He was in a rampaging mood against Manav Thakkar, whose forays in higher sections taking their toll. Exploiting the angles well, Sanil made Manav sweat despite dropping the first game. Once he won the second, he grew in confidence and his forehands with great spin left Manav thunderstruck. He, however, managed to close in on Sanil in the fifth and won by minimal points. But in the next, Sanil went way ahead to post the win in style.

In the second semi-final, Amalraj began cautiously as is his wont in recent times but had things under control from the second. Sougata tried his bit to attack but Amalraj was alert to thwart any danger coming his way. No doubt, the extended third game could have gone either way but Amalraj, after deuce, claimed the first two points to go 2-1 up. From there, the match went only one way.

In women semi-finals, Manika Batra accounted for Madhurika Patkar 4-1 while Sutirtha did the job in straight games against Ayhika Mukherjee of RBI.

Ayhika, Manav win

But the RBI girl, without a title this season, finally won one beating Kaushani Nath of West Bengal 4-1 to wear the Youth Girls crown.  Ayhika drove well, especially her forehand coming off nicely, and was harsh on anything loose to earn the reward. Kaushani did well in patches but poor shot selections led her downfall. Yet she managed to take the fourth game, which saw several deuces and four match-points in favour of Ayhika. But the RBI paddler closed it on in the next with a lot to spare.

Manav Thakkar put it across Ronit Bhanja of West Bengal in straight games to go home with the Youth Boys gold medal in the season-ender.  The PSPB paddler, who missed out on the Junior Boys title, must be crass with him for last night’s performance and his determination to finish with a title was palpable. After losing the first two games rather quickly, Ronit was on road to recovery in the third but few silly mistakes cost him the game and subsequently the match.

Results:

Men Singles:

Final:  Anthony Amalraj (PSPB) bt Sanil Shetty (PSPB) 11-8, 11-9, 11-9, 9-11, 11-8.

Semi-finals: Sanil Shetty bt Manav Thakkar (PSPB) 8-11, 15-13, 11-6, 11-8, 9-11, 11-4; Anthony Amalraj bt Sougata Sarkar (LIC) 8-11, 11-8, 12-10, 11-8, 11-7.

Women Singles:

Final: Sutirtha Mukherjee (WB) bt Manika Batra (PSPB) 7-11, 12-10, 11-8, 11-9, 11-7.

Semi-finals: Manika Batra bt Madhurika Patkar (PSPB) 11-6, 11-8, 12-10, 10-12, 11-9; Sutirtha Mukherjee bt Ayhika Mukherjee (RBI) 11-4, 11-9, 11-8, 12-10.

Youth Boys Singles:

Final: Manav Thakkar (PSPB) bt Ronit Bhanja (WB) 11-4, 11-3, 12-10, 11-8.  

Semi-finals: Ronit Bhanja bt Siddesh Pande (MHR) 11-3, 11-7, 11-7, 11-5; Manav Thakkar bt Jeet Chandra (WB) 11-3, 10-12, 11-3, 11-7, 11-7.

Youth Girls Singles:

Final: Ayhika Mukherjee (RBI) bt Kaushani Nath (WB) 13-11, 11-4, 11-6, 16-18, 11-6.

Semi-finals: Kaushani Nath bt Sreeja Akula (RBI) 7-11, 11-7, 11-5, 12-10, 6-11, 14-12; Ayhika Mukherjee bt Prapti Sen (WB) 11-3, 11-13, 11-8, 10-12, 11-6, 11-7.