Ishaan, Filzah warm-up for Nationals in style

In the second phase of State Championships 2002 at Gandhidham, Ishaan wins Youth Boys & Filzah Youth Girls title

Gandhidham, Feb.8 : Ishaan Hingorani and Filzahfatema Kadri have warmed up for the upcoming Senior National TT Championships 2020. Kutch-based Ishaan and Filzah of Surat claimed Youth Boys and Girls titles respectively at the Gujarat State TT Championships 2020 at Gandhidham late Sunday evening.
Gujarat State Table Tennis Association organised the State Championships with support of Kachchh District Table Tennis Association.
In the boys final Ishaan was pitted against in-form Dhairya Parmar of Ahmedabad. Ishaan was also in a different zone all-together making minimal unforced errors. Serving with a lot of variations – deep, long, short in his service Ishaan was able to keep Dhairya in check. “He used to receive my service well but yesterday I played with a lot of variation. Also I didn’t allow him to dictate terms even in rallies. And that made the difference,” said Ishaan, while recalling his 11-8 11-5 7-11 11-7 11-3 win.
Ishaan admitted the win couldn’t have come at a better time than this. “Winning a competitive match certainly enhances your confidence. And this Youth Boys title will do a world of good,” said Ishaan.
The last-four stage had an element of surprise. Surat’s Ayaz Murad caused upset when he beat Chitrax Bhatt of Ahmedabad in quarterfinals. But Ayaz couldn’t keep his winning momentum going and went down to Ishaan. Dhairya Parmar won a seven-game thriller against Kaushal Bhatt of Bhavnagar.
The UTT 82nd Senior National Table Tennis Championships – 2020 will be held in Panchkula from February 14 to 23.
Filzah also sounded emphatic and confident after claiming the Youth Girls title at the expense of her citymate Aafrien Murad. In a final that stretched six games, Filzah registered 11-9 9-11 11-4 11-8 11-4 win.
“After losing Junior quarters I was a bit disappointed with my game. But Youth Girls’ win has boosted my confidence and I am ready for the Nationals. I relied on forehand attack and it worked,” remarked Filzah, who scored some outstanding down-the-line winners. For a record Filzah had finished runners-up in the Women’s section going down to Frenaz Chipia in the all-Surat final.
Earlier in the semis, Aafrien had beaten Ahmedabad’s Kausha Bhairapure while Filzah dashed Bhavnagar-based Charmi Patel’s title dreams.
Gujarat State Table Tennis Association president Vipul Mittra, IAS terming the championship a success praised players for their efforts. “We appreciate the players for showing their courage and participating. The main objective was to give them competitive match practice and we have achieved it. I am sure they are ready for the national,” said Mittra.
Final :
Youth Boys: Ishaan Hingorani bt Dhairya Parmar 11-8 11-5 7-11 11-7 11-3
Youth Girls: Filzahfatema Kadri bt Aafrien Murad 11-9 9-11 11-4 11-8 11-4