PSPB set to retain titles
PSPB paddler Soumyajit Ghosh posted two wins in the semis against Airports Authority of India.
The Petroleum Sports Promotion Boards men’s team are just a step away from retaining the Institutional Table Tennis team championship after defeating Airports Authority of India 3-1 in the first semi-final at the District Indoor Hall in Dharwad, Karnataka, on Friday.
In the second semi-final, Railway Sports Promotion Board faced tough competition from Food Corporation of India but got through 3-1.
The PSPB women’s team also made it to the final beating Indian Bank 3-0. In the other semi-final, Airports Authority beat RSPB 3-1 to enter the final after a a gap of two years. They had beaten the same opponents at Burnpur (West Bengal) in 2011 in route to their maiden entry into the final.
PSPB men, for strange reasons benched both Soumyadeep Roy and Anthony Amalraj, and preferred youngsters Sanil Shetty, Soumyajit Ghosh and Harmeet Desai.
Shetty played an excellent first match against Nithin Thiruvengadam, winning 11-6, 8-11, 11-5, 11-9 to put his team ahead. Ghosh then beat Raj Mondal 11-8, 11-6, 14-12 to strengthen their hold on the semis.
AAI kept themselves alive as their top player Sushmit Sriram outlasted Desai 10-12, 11-4, 11-9, 5-11, 9-11. But Ghosh registered his second win of the day and saw his team through to the final as he beat Thiruvengadam.
RSPB began shakily with Anirban Nandi letting a 2-0 advantage slip in the first rubber. His rival Sivananda Seshadri equalled the scores at 2-2 but could not maintain the intensity and lost 11-9, 11-6, 3-11, 12-14, 11-9.
Amal Balgu then defeated Sarthak Gandhi in straight games to give RSPB a 2-0 lead but in the third singles FCI’s Samira Kumar beat RSPB’s E. Prabhakaran 12-10, 9-11, 11-7, 11-7. Nandi, like Ghosh for PSPB, came back to beat Gandhi 11-8, 6-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-5 and take his team through.
The PSPB women did not have to sweat it out much against an inexperienced Indian Bank team. PSPB, led by national champion K. Shamini, swept aside their rivals 3-0.
Shamini beat V. Senha 11-6, 11-4, 9-11, 11-5 while Madhurika Patkar defeated Amrutha Pushpak 11-6, 11-4, 7-11, 12-10. Ankita Das then eased past C.R. Harshavardhani 11-5, 11-4, 11-4.
For Railways women, it was a second defeat in two years to the same opponents. Kritiwika Sinha Roy defeated veteran Anandita Chakraborty 11-5, 13-11, 11-9 and Nikhat Bhanu, despite severe pain in her shoulder, won 11-6, 11-2, 13-15, 11-5 against Takeme Sarkar to give AAI a 2-0 lead.
Though S. Krithicka lost Shreya in straight games reducing AAI’s margin to 2-1, Kritwica registered a 11-6, 11-8, 11-4 win over Sarkar to seal the tie.
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