Bhavnagar, November 13: Suresh Raj Preyesh has made it a habit of sorts to accumulate silver wares. And it was not surprising when he added his third Sub-Junior Boys trophy of the season with an emphatic 4-0 win over Tharun Shanmugham in the UTT National Ranking (Central Zone) Table Tennis Championships at the SAG Sports Complex here today.

Suhana Saini, too, was in line for her third title but a momentary lapse in concentration in the decider cost the trophy as Pritha Vartikar of Maharashtra made one of the finest recoveries in recent times to wear her maiden Sub-Junior Girls crown. The Maharashtra girl won 4-3.

Preyesh proved too good in the all-Tamil Nadu left-handers’ final. Preyesh, with his excellent service variations and clever placing, often caught Tharun on the wrong foot. Even otherwise, the latter was unable to cope with the pressure of a final against someone who has a proven record in title-clashes.

In the semi-finals, Preyesh had it rather easy against UP’s Divyansh Srivastava, winning 4-1. But Tharun had to fight a bit before subduing Sarth Mishra, also of UP, 4-2. It was unfortunate that Sarth, wilted under pressure after levelling score at 2-2 and after deuce in the decider as the Tamil Nadu boy clinched the last two crucial points.

Haryana’s Suhana had a bad opening but managed to level 2-2 and then 3-3 before surging ahead with a 5-0 and 8-5 lead in the decider. But her relaxed play at the crucial moment and a few negatives gave the breathing space to Pritha who levelled at 9-9. On her serve, Suhana fumbled but Pritha collected the last two points, even as Suhana walked smiling cursing her fate.

Suhana led 3-1 in her semi-final before dropping another game. Yet, the determined Haryana paddler seized the moment in the sixth to wrap up a 4-2 victory against Prithoki Chakraborty of West Bengal. However, it was a long-drawn battle for Pritha against Tamil Nadu’s Kavyashree Baskar as both matched each other’s guile and were tied 3-3. In the decider, a superior Pritha slammed the door on Kavyashree to win 4-3.

Priyanuj, Sharvani crowned

In Cadet Boys’ final, it was a Priyanuj Bhattacharrya show as he wound up the season with his second title. Today, he defeated Tamil Nadu’s Abhinand 4-1 to take a further step in his fledgling career. Extremely quick to adapt, the PSPB paddler had the TN boy in all sorts of trouble and went 2-1 up. But soon after, he finished the match in style without authority.  

Earlier in the semi-finals, Abhinand had to play extraordinarily to post a 3-2 win against Sudhanshu Maini after trailing 0-2. The Tamil Nadu boy put up a good fight in the first extended game, but lost the second tamely. However, he bounced back to take the next three games. In the case of Priyanuj, it was a close call in the third game which would have allowed his rival from Tamil Nadu, Umesh Kumar, some leeway but he sealed it in his favour as well as the next to win 3-1.

In Cadet Girls’ final, Sharvani Nagam of Tamil Nadu made up for her final losses twice over, in the East Zone as well as in the West Zone, when she put it across Diya Brahmachary of West Bengal 4-0 to win her maiden title this season. Diya, title winner at Sonepat and Thiruvananthapuram, came a cropper against the TN girl who showed her intent right from the word go.

In the last-four stage matches, Sharvani avenged her title loss in West Zone when she beat the eventual winner Jennifer Varghese of Maharashtra 3-2. At a precarious 1-3 position, none would have given the TN paddler a grain of chance but she did well to come to stage a comeback and snatch victory by taking the last two games. For Diya Bramhachary, it was even more difficult as she trailed 0-2 but the West Bengal girl beat her state mate Nandini Saha 3-2.

In the Boys and Girls finals (U13-U15) categories, Rajveer Shah and Pritha Vartikar, both from Maharashtra, lifted the titles beating state mates Havish Asrani and Taneesha Kotecha, respectively. They registered a laboured 3-2 triumphs.

Results:

Sub-Junior Boys: Final: Preyesh Raj Suresh (TN) bt Tharun Shanmugham (TN) 11-6, 11-9, 11-3, 11-8; Semi-finals: Preyesh Raj Suresh bt Divyansh Srivastava (UP) 11-13,11-5, 11-9, 11-7, 11-6; Tharun Shanmugham bt Sarth Mishra (UP) 10-12, 11-3, 14-12, 11-7, 8-11, 12-10.

Sub-Junior Girls: Final: Pritha Vartikar (Mah) bt Suhana Saini (Har) 11-8, 11-9, 3-11, 3-11, 11-4, 5-11, 11-9; Semi-finals: Suhana Saini bt Prithoki Chakraborti (WB) 11-4, 11-4, 9-11, 11-4, 6-11, 11-8; Pritha Vartikar bt Kavyashree Baskar (TN) 11-4, 11-5, 11-13, 10-12, 11-9, 8-11, 11-8.

Cadet Boys: Final: Priyanuj Bhattacharyya (PSPBA) bt PB Abhinand (TN) 11-6, 11-8, 9-11, 11-2, 11-7; Semi-finals: PB Abhinand bt Sudhanshu Maini (Del) 12-14, 5-11, 11-6, 11-4, 11-6; Priyanuj Bhattacharyya bt Umesh Kumar (TN) 11-4, 9-11, 14-12, 11-9.

Cadet Girls: Final: Sharvani Nagam (TN) bt Diya Brahmachary (WB) 11-8, 11-5, 11-9, 11-6; Semi-finals: Sharvani Nagam bt Jennifer Verghese (Mah) 12-10, 11-5, 9-11, 10-12, 12-10; Diya Bramhacahry bt Nandini Saha (WB) 7-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-8.

U13-U15 Boys: Final: Rajveer Shah (Mah) bt Havish Asrani (Mah) 11-9, 3-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-5.

U13-U15 Girls: Final: Pritha Vartikar (Mah) bt Taneesha Kotecha (Mah) 4-11, 11-9, 11-3, 7-11, 11-9.