Vijayawada, September 8: Payas Jain of Delhi redeemed his talent to capture the Sub-Junior Boys title in the 11Sports National Ranking (South Zone) Table Tennis Championships at the DRM Municipal Indoor Hall here today.

On way to winning his first crown this season, he had to gather all his experience to outwit Delhi-mate Aadarsh Om Chetri 4-2 (9-11, 11-8, 11-5, 7-11, 11-6, 11-4)—both train and play at the same foundation—in a final that saw so much initial uncertainties.

The Sub-Junior Girls crown went the way of Suhana Saini, who is in her first season after graduating to the higher category, and her victim in the final was an old rival from Tamil Nadu, Kavyashree Baskar. The Haryana girl prevailed to win 5-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-8, 11-8.

As for the Cadet titles, Oishik Ghosh from West Bengal and Radhika Sakpal of Maharashtra emerged as the new faces to finish on top of the podium in Boys and Girls categories.

Oishik Ghosh beat P.B. Abhunandh, a TTFI wildcard entrant and a first-time finalist, but not before the winner was stretched fully in a thriller as the 11-8, 8-11, 11-5, 9-11, 11-5, 8-11, 11-5 results show. However, for Radhika it was a 11-6, 11-7, 11-5, 11-6 triumph in the final over her West Bengal opponent, Aashika Sharma.

Payas, who won season’s first title in Central Zone at Indore, had a nervy beginning but came into his own in the second to level. But then, Om Chetri, a much-improved player with all shots in his book, fought well to give some anxious moments to Payas. And when Chetri restored parity in the fourth game, it was time for Payas to go for an all-out attack which paid dividends as Chetri made several unforced errors, often finding the net. Having taken a 3-2 lead, it was up to Payas to close down the issue and he did rather convincingly in the sixth game.

Suhana, too, had a horrible start in the final with Kavyashree on the ascendancy.  At 0-2 down, the Haryana girl minimized her errors while her tall TN rival lost her way somewhat to lose the third by minimal points. This gave the confidence to Suhana as she was a revelation in the next three games to emerge worthy winner even as Kavyashree failed to gather herself from where she left it off in the second game.   

Cadet boys Oishik Ghosh and Suhan Gulati from Punjab were going neck and neck in what was understandably a slow final. The trade-off of shots matched each other’s skills but the West Bengal boy was really good in the decider when it mattered. In contrast, the girls’ final was a totally one-sided affair with the Maharashtra’s Radhika proving too hot for Aashika Sharma of West Bengal.

Results:

Cadet Girls (Finals): Radhika Sakpal (Mah) bt Aashika Sharma (WB) 11-6, 11-7, 11-5, 11-6; Semi-Finals: Aashika Sharma bt Soumya Dass (WB) 11-7, 4-11, 11-9, 11-4; Radhika Sakpal  bt Nandini Saha (WB) 9-11, 7-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-7;  Quarter-finals: Aashika Sharma bt Christin Fiona Dass (TTIWC) 9-11, 11-8, 11-9, 6-11, 13-11; Soumya Dass bt Sana Dsouza (Mah) 6-11, 11-7, 11-4, 5-11, 11-7; Rashika Sakpal bt Hardee Patel (Mah) 4-11, 11-4, 9-11, 11-3, 11-2; Nandini Saha bt Bhumika Kaushik (ASM) 9-11, 9-11, 11-9, 14-12, 13-11.

Cadet Boys (Finals): Oishik Ghosh (WB) bt Suhan Gulati (Pun) 11-8, 8-11, 11-5, 9-11, 11-5, 8-11, 11-5; Semifinals: Oishik Ghosh bt PB Abhinandh (TTFIWC) 11-3, 7-11, 12-10, 11-5; Suhan Gulati bt Emon Adhikary (WB) 5-11, 10-12, 12-10, 11-5, 11-2; Quarter-finals: P.B. Abhinandh bt Gaurav Panchangam (Mah) 13-11, 1-7, 11-8; Oishik Ghosh bt Naman Bhatngar (PSPB-A) 11-3, 13-11, 11-9; Suhaan Gulati bt Varun Kashyap (KNT) 13-11, 9-11, 11-5, 11-5; Emon Adhikary bt Balamurugan Muthu Rajasekaran (TN) 11-8, 8-11, 11-9, 3-11, 11-2.

Sub-Junior Girls (Finals): Suhana Saini (Har) bt Kavyasree Baskar (TN) 5-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-8, 11-8;  Semifinals:Kavyasree Baskar bt Anargya Manjunath (Kar) 13-11, 4-11, 11-8, 11-5, 9-11, 9-11, 12-10; Suhana Saini bt Pritha Vartikar (Mah) 9-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-5, 11-9; Quarter-finals: Anargya Manjunath bt Sneha Bhowmick (WB) 11-5, 12-14, 12-14, 12-10, 11-8; Kavyasree Baskar bt Tamanna Gulshan (Del) 11-6, 11-4, 8-11, 11-2; Suhana Saini bt Prithoki Chakraborti (WB) 12-10, 11-5, 11-5; Pritha Vartikar bt V. Nehal Suriya Narayanan (TTFIWC) 11-6, 11-9, 12-10.

Sub-Junior Boys (Finals): Payas Jain (Del) bt Adarsh Om Chetri (Del) 9-11, 11-8, 11-5, 7-11, 11-6, 11-4; Semi-finals:  Payas Jain bt Soumyadeep Sarkar (NB) 11-5, 11-8, 9-11, 11-6, 11-13, 6-11, 11-9; Adarsh Chetri bt  Vishwa Deendayalan (TN) 11-9, 11-7, 11-8, 7-11, 3-11, 11-6;  Quarter-finals):Payas Jain bt Sameehan Kulkarni (Mah) 11-3, 11-6, 13-11; Soumyadeep Sarkar (NB) bt Divyansh Srivastava (UP) 11-6, 12-10, 12-10; Adarsh Chetri bt PV Srikanth Kashyap (Kar) 11-3, 11-8, 11-5; Vishwa Deendayalan bt Sujan Bhardwaj (Kar) 11-4, 11-4, 13-11.