Oishiki Joardar enters U-19 Girls final
Vadodara, November 23: Oishiki Joardar of Gujarat was on song as she toppled top-seeded Suhana Saini of Haryana 3-1 to enter the Youth Girls U-19 final of the third UTT National Ranking Table Tennis Championships underway at the Sama Indoor Stadium here today.
Oishiki will take on Syndrela Das of West Bengal in the final later this evening. Syndrela defeated Prithoki Chakraborty, also from Haryana, in straight games.
Given the reputation of Suhana, it looked like a one-sided semifinal even before Oishiki reached the table. And, as expected, Suhana was on a roll, winning the first game with utmost ease. But the Gujarat paddler levelled the score in a tough battle and gained the confidence to go 2-1 up after an error-prone Suhana struggled for rhythm. Cashing in on the situation, Oishiki played a tight game and won with minimal points for a final showdown against Syndrela.
The Bengal girl was in a commanding position against another Haryana paddler, Prithoki, who hardly did anything to counter her opponent. Syndrela used the table well to fox her Haryana opponent, who seemed to have thrown in the towel early.
In the Boys’ semifinals, Ankur had the measure of K.J. Akash of Karnataka and led 2-0. However, he dropped the next game before going all out in the fourth game and entered the final. He will run into Preyesh Raj Suresh from Tamil Nadu. The latter won a tricky match against state-mate P.B. Abhinand, who led 2-0.
If Ankur played a flawless match, left-handed Preyesh made several unforced errors, especially in the first two games. He made amends soon enough to catch up with his counterpart and level the score. The heavy loss in the fourth game must have upset Abhinand so much that he never recovered from the shock and lost meekly.
Meanwhile, Akash Pal and Poymantee Baisya of the Railways entered the final of the mixed doubles after beating Ravindra Kotiyan, also from the Railways, but combining with West Bengal’s Prapti Sen 3-0. In the other semifinal, Payas Jain of Delhi and Yashaswini Ghorpade of Karnataka joined hands to outsmart the Railway’s pair of Anirban Ghosh and Shruti Amrute, who led 2-1. Eventually, Payas and Yashaswini entered the final.
Youth Boys Singles U-19: Semifinals: Ankur Bhattacharjee (WB) bt KJ Akash (Kar) 11-6, 11-5, 8-11, 11-8; Preyesh Raj (TN) bt P.B. Abhinand (TN) 8-11, 6-11, 11-4, 11-3, 11-7.
Youth Girls Singles U-19: Semifinals: Oishiki Joardar (Guj) bt Suhana Saini (Har) 5-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-9; Syndrela Das (WB) bt Prithoki Chakraborty (Har) 11-7, 11-5, 11-7.
Mixed Doubles:Semifinals: Akash Pal/Poymantee Baisya (RSPB) bt Ravindra Kotiyan/Prapti Sen (RSPB/WB) 11-7, 11-9, 11-8; Payas Jain/Yashaswini Ghorpade (Del/Kar) bt Anirban Ghosh/Shruti Amrute (RSPB) 10-12, 11-5, 9-11, 12-10, 11-5.