Filzah, Harshil Junior Champions
Jamnagar, July 6: Naitri Dave of Bhavnagar saved two match points but couldn’t stop Filzahfatema Kadri of Surat from completing a grand double here at the ongoing Second Gujarat State Ranking Table Tennis Tournament being played at Summair Sports Club, Jamnagar. Filzah, who had bagged Youth Girls title, lifted the Junior Girls trophy with an emphatic win over Naitri 11-7 11-4 5-11 11-5 11-8.
Harshil Kothari of Bhavnagar was crowned Junior Boys’ champion at the expense of Ahmedabad’s Chitrax Bhatt.
Surat-based Filzah looked confident from the word go. Relying heavily on her backhand and short services, Filzah was in her element best. Rarely she gave Bhavnagar-based Naitri a chance. Naitri was also guilty of slow feet movements, as Filzah used the table’s wide wisely.
In the third game Naitri looked to have had made a comeback when Filzah faltered. However, the Surti recovered in time. In the fifth game, Filzah led 10-6, before closing the game at 11-8 and the match 4-1.
In the semifinals, Filzah had beaten Ahmedabad’s Kausha Bhairapure while Naitri got the better of her cousin Namna Jayswal.
Chitrax and Harshil have taken their sub-junior rivalry to junior boys section as well. Going into the final Chitrax, who has been dominant, looked favourite. But Harshil had different ideas. Harshil who has been in good form in this tournament played with purpose. He first engaged Chitrax in longer rallies before hitting winners on either sides of table during his 11-8 6-11 7-11 11-9 11-4 11-7.
“I was not only able to block but also finish long rallies. I guess that made a big difference. I played with confidence,” Harshil remarked, who stopped Chitrax from a double. Chitrax had won Youth Boys’ title the previous day.
Earlier, in the semifinals, Chitrax and Harshil came up with clinical performance against Vidit Desai of Baroda and Nandish Halani of Bhavnagar respectively. Chitrax with his attacking game was too strong for Vidit, a defenser, booked a berth in the final. The Amdavadi won 12-10 6-11 11-9 11-5 11-6.
On the next table, Harshil perfectly nullified Nandish’s counter-attacking game by playing some superb forehand shots. Consequently, Nandish was not able to play his natural game and committed errors catalysing Harshil’s points tally. Harshil walked with the match and the title match ticket with a 11-9 11-8 11-7 11-7 scoreline.
Results :
JUNIOR GIRLS
QUARTER FINALS
Namna Jayswal (Bvn) bt Charmi Patel (Bvn) 11-5 11-8 11-8 11-8
Naitri Dave (Bvn) bt Prarthna Parmar (Bvn) 11-7 11-9 11-5 11-9
Kavisha Parekh (Bvn) bt Sheli Patel (Brd) 11-5 11-5 11-5 11-6
Filzahfatema Kadri (Srt) bt Kausha Bhairapure (ahm) 7-11 8-11 15-13 11-8 11-4 6-11 11-7
SEMIFINALS
Filzahfatema Kadri (Srt) bt Kavisha Parekh (Bvn) 11-9 11-7 11-7 9-11 5-11 14-12
Naitri Dave (Bvn) bt Namna Jayswal (Bvn) 10-12 11-6 13-11 7-11 7-11 11-3 11-6
FINAL
Filzahfatema Kadri (Srt) bt Naitri Dave (Bvn) 11-7 11-4 5-11 11-5 11-8
JUNIOR BOYS
QUARTER FINALS
Chitrax Bhatt (Ahm) bt Smitraj Gohil (Bvn) 11-8 11-4 13-11 11-8
Nandish Halani (Bvn) bt Shlok Bajaj (Srt) 12-10 11-2 11-7 11-8
Vidit Desai (Brd) bt Pratham Madlani (Brd) 11-8 11-2 11-9 11-7
Harshil Kothari (Bvn) bt Karanpal Jadeja (Bvn) 11-6 6-11 9-11 12-10 4-11 11-9 12-10
SEMIFINALS
Chitrax Bhatt (Ahm) bt Vidit Desai (Brd) 12-10 6-11 11-9 11-5 11-6
Harshil Kothari (bvn) bt Nandish Halani (Bvn) 11-9 11-8 11-7 11-7
FINAL
Harshil Kothari (bvn) bt Chitrax Bhatt (Ahm) 11-8 6-11 7-11 11-9 11-4 11-7