Sonepat, December 30: Manush Shah of Gujarat, making most of the chance that he created in the semifinals to beat Manav Thakkar, ensured that he went home with  double singles titles as he beat Ronit Bhanja of West Bengal 4-1 to win the Youth Boys title in the 11Sports 80th Junior and Youth National Table Tennis Championships which concluded at the DPS Hall here today.

An hour before, the Gujarat boy had downed Payas Jain of Delhi in straight games to claim the Junior Boys crown as well. But Prapti Sen was not as lucky as she had to give in to the pressure applied by Maharashtra’s Shruti Amrute, who won the Youth Girls singles crown with a 4-2 victory.

Manush, putting his tiredness behind, focused on the trophy and defeated Ronit Bhanja of West Bengal despite the stretched first game and a couple more. Exploiting the angles and executing his shots to perfection he posed a lot of problems for Bhanja, who managed to take a game of him. But beyond that he couldn’t do much against Manush, who was full of confidence and determination.  

A visibly tired Prapti was full of mistakes but credit should go to Shruti Amrute who attacked well to unsettle her rival despite losing the first game. Leading 3-1 the left-handed Maharashtra girl slowed down a bit when Prapti was on the path of recovery to win her second game. But with momentum on Shruti’s side, she closed in quickly, taking a 6-1 lead in the sixth game. That was indication enough for things to come as Shruti wrapped it with minimum efforts for her maiden Youth title.

Manush, who has had a direct entry into the main draw and did not drop a game, continued the trend in the final, too, to beat Payas Jain in straight games. The confidence of the Gujarat left-hander was impeccable and his free-flowing strokes were always difficult for the opponent to handle as Payas would have realized. The Delhi boy, who played well throughout and even led his team to the first title, could not overcome the powerful Manush.

Prapti Sen, too, maintained a disciplined approach throughout and justified the top billing to claim the title, beating a struggling Anusha Kutambale of Madhya Pradesh 4-1. Playing close to the table, the little girl had a complete control of her shots and executed well even during crunch situations like the one she faced against Diya Chitale in the semifinals. In comparison, the final was all too easy.   

Earlier, in the first semifinal defending champion and top-seeded Manav Thakkar lost to Gujarat’s Manush Shah after the latter made a fine recovery from 1-3 to win 4-3 in Youth Boys singles. The Gujarat left-hander, countered Manav so well that the top-seed wilted under pressure. Manush, who had reached the Junior Boys final, was well on course for a double. In the other semifinal, Ronit Bhanja made it a one-sided affair against PSPB’s Jeet Chandra, winning in straight games.

In Youth Girls, Prpati Sen stopped the fine run of Anjali Rohilla of Haryana, also in straight games, to earn a final meeting with Shruti Amrute of Maharashtra, who beat Naina of Telangana 4-0.

In Junior Boys, Delhi’s Payas Jain steadied himself to thwart Raegan Albuquerque’s threat to win 4-1 to take on Maush Shah, who beat Deepit R Patil 4-0, in the final. Prapti Sen did what a Manush Shah did to enter the Junior Girls final too, after beating Diya Chitale 4-2 in a tough semifinal. In the second, Anusha Kutumbale easily defeated Manushree Patil 4-1.

Maharashtra’s sweep

In Junior Boys and Girls doubles, it was a sweep of titles for Maharashtra. Chinmaya Somaiya and Raegan Albuquerque combined well against team mates Deepit Rajesh Patil and Dev Shroff to win the hard-fought final 3-2. Maharashtra’s Manushree Patil and Diya Chitale made it look very easy in the final of the Junior Girls, beating the West Bengal duo of Munmun Kundu and Poymantee Baisya 3-1.

The Youth Boys doubles win came as a consolation prize for Manav Thakkar of PSPB, who in the company of Siddesh Pande, defeated West Bengal’s Abhimanyu Mitra and Ronit Bhanja 3-1. The West Bengal duo of Surbhi Patwari and Poymantee Baisya accounted for Selenadeepthi Selvakumar and Swastika Ghosh 3-1 to win the Youth Girls doubles crown.

Results:

Youth Boys: Final: Manush Shah (Guj) bt Ronit Bhanja (WB) 18-16, 12-10, 10-12, 11-4, 11-5; Semifinals: Manush Shah bt Manav Thakkar (PSPB) 5-11, 6-11, 11-7, 7-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-7, Ronit Bhanja bt Jeet Chandra (PSPB) 11-8, 12-10, 11-2, 11-7.

Doubles Final: Manav Thakkar-Siddesh Pande (PSPB) bt Abhimanyu Mitra-Ronit Bhanja (WB) 9-11, 11-6, 11-4, 11-6.

Youth Girls: Final: Shruti Amrute (Mah) bt Prapti Sen (PSPB) 8-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-3, 8-11, 11-4; Semifinals: Prapti Sen bt Anjali Rohilla (Har) 11-4, 11-4, 13-11, 11-3, Shruti Amrute bt Naina (Telg) 11-6, 13-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-8.

Doubles Final: Surbhi Patwari-Poymantee Baisya (WB) bt Selenadeepthi Selvakumar-Swastika Ghosh (AAI) 11-8, 12-10, 9-11, 11-9.

Junior Boys: Final: Manush Shah (Guj) bt Payas Jain (Del) 11-6, 11-7, 11-7, 13-11; Semifinals: Payas Jain bt Raegan Albuquerque (Mah) 11-9, 11-8, 5-11, 16-14,11-2, Mansh Shah bt Deepit R. Patil (Mah) 11-7, 11-6, 11-6, 11-2.

Doubles Final: Chinmaya Somaiya-Raegan Albuquerque (Mah) bt Deepit R Patil-Dev Shroff (Mah) 10-12, 11-7, 9-11, 12-10, 13-11.

Junior Girls: Final: Prapti Sen (PSPB) bt Anusha Kutumbale (MP) 13-11, 7-11, 11-4, 11-7, 12-10; Semifinals: Prapti Sen bt Diya Chitale 11-9, 11-6, 9-11, 10-12, 11-5, 12-10, Anusha Kutumbale bt Manushree Patil (Mah) 11-8, 11-9, 7-11, 11-5, 11-4.

Doubles Final: Manushree Patil-Diya Chitale (Mah) bt Mummun Kundu-Poymantee Baisya (WB) 11-9, 4-11, 11-8, 12-10.