It was a long-awaited contest between the two Petroleum Academy boys pursuing different styles. In the end, it was the offensive Birdie Boro who beat Lalrinpuia 4-2 to clinch the sub-junior boys’ singles crown in the national ranking (Central Zone) table tennis championships at the Gaushala Indoor Stadium in Jodhpur. He also took home the winner’s purse of Rs 12,000.
The title of the sub-junior girls’ singles went to Sagarika Ghosh, who beat Moumitta Dutta 4-3. The victory was worth Rs10,000 to Ghosh.
In the cadet boys final, Regen Alberqueque of Maharashtra defeated state-mate Ashwin Subramanian 4-2, while Prapti Sen held the West Bengal flag afloat in the cadet girls singles final by beating Swetha Steffi from Tamil Nadu 3-1. The winners took home Rs 8,400 and Rs 7,000, respectively.
The match between Boro and Lalrinpuia had some exciting moments. Lalrinpuia gave a tough time to his opponent, but Boro kept attacking and was rewarded with some crucial points which ultimately clinched the final in his favour.