Chitrax bags two titles, Kritwikka win women’s crown

SBI Gujarat State & Inter-District Table Tennis Championship -2021

GANDHIDHAM, Aug.31: Young Chitrax Bhatt fulfilled his goal for the tournament while India No.7 Krittwika Sinha Roy lived up to the challenge as they won the men’s and women’s titles at the SBI Gujarat State & Inter-District Table Tennis Championship.
In a keenly contested Men’s final of the Championship, supported by the Sports Authority of Gujarat and Kachchh District Table Tennis Association (KDTTA), third seed Chitrax of Ahmedabad defeated fourth seed Ishaan Hingorani of Kachchh 4-2 to win his second men’s singles title.
At the Late M.P. Mittra Indoor Stadium, Haresh Sangtani Sports Complex in Adipur, Gandhidham, Chitrax took the first game 11-6 but the man in form Ishaan, who was instrumental in Kachchh winning their first-ever Men’s Team title, bounced back to level the tie by winning the next game 11-7.
But the day belonged to Chitrax as he surged ahead by winning the next two games 11-7, 11-8. Though Ishaan managed to win the fifth game 12-10 but Chitax settled the issue by winning the sixth game 11-8.
It turned out to be an eventful tournament for the 18-year-old as he also won the Junior Boys’ (U-19). In the final, top seed Chitrax edged out fourth seed Burhanuddin Malubhai 11-6, 11-6, 5-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-8 to take the crown.
“I have won the men’s title at the State Ranking Tournament in Anand in 2019. But this is a special win considering the circumstances,” Chitrax said after the Men’s final. “To be honest, it was my goal to win the title and I am happy to realise it. But I must admit that it was not easy as we are playing a competitive tournament after more than a year,” he added.
“It was challenging to begin with but as I moved ahead things started to fall in place for me,” he said.
Chitrax, who was training at the Khelo India Academy in Delhi, felt that the stint had helped him immensely. “There are still a lot of areas that I need to improve. But the time spent practising at the Khelo India Academy in New Delhi was a great help to get back in the shape,” he added while acknowledging that he set his sights for the Nationals this season.
Meanwhile, Krittwika Sinha Roy, who had switched allegiance to Gujarat and is representing Surat, lived up to her high standards as she beat teammate and top seed Frenaz Chipia 4-1.
Krittwika won the first game 11-5 but Frenaz levelled the tie by winning the next game 11-9. Krittwika then brought her experience to the fore to thwart a valiant effort from Frenaz by winning the next two games 11-7, 12-10 before settling the issue with an 11-2 win in the fifth game.
Meanwhile, second seed Filzah Fatema Kadri of Surat won the Junior Girls’ (U-19) crown with an 11-8, 13-11, 11-4, 11-4 win over eighth seed Namna Jayswal of Bhavnagar.
Ahmedabad Overall Champion:

Ahmedabad stamped their dominance in the tournament as they were declared winners of the Championship title. The paddlers from Ahmedabad won an impressive eight titles to be crowned as the overall champions.
Congratulating the winners, GSTTA president Mr Vipul Mittra said, “I want to congratulate all the winners of the Championship. I understand that resuming competitive action after a prolonged gap was tough on the players but they came up with some impressive display to win our hearts and assure us the game is in safe hands.”
“The successful completion of the tournament gave us the confidence to go ahead with our full season which will benefit the players and help them prepare for the Nationals. We are now determined to conduct our other tournaments in the coming months,” he added.
“I also want to congratulate the organising team for putting up an impressive show during these tough times. It was not easy considering the changing scenario but they ensured the government guidelines are followed by all,” Mr Mittra, IAS, said.