Himansh shines bright as Ahmedabad colts dominate cadet, sub-junior categories
GANDHIDHAM, Aug 27: Himansh Dahiya basked in the limelight as young paddlers from Ahmedabad dominated the show as they won the Sub-Junior and Cadet Boys’ categories along with the Cadet Girls’ title on the second day of the SBI Gujarat State & Inter-District Table Tennis Championship that is being played at the Late M.P. Mittra Indoor Stadium, Haresh Sangtani Sports Complex in Adipur, Gandhidham on Friday.
The tournament, co-sponsored by WinWin Maritime Limited and supported by the Sports Authority of Gujarat and Kachchh District Table Tennis, saw some thrilling results in the under-15 Sub-Junior Boys’ category as unseeded Himansh of Ahmedabad recorded a major upset when he beat eighth seed Harshvardhan Patel of Aravali 11-4, 11-2, 11-4, 11-4 to win the title.
Incidentally, on Thursday, Himansh created a ripple when he shocked top seed Janmajay Patel of Aravali 11-7, 5-11, 11-7, 11-5 in the quarters.
Unseeded Arya Kataria of Ahmedabad took the third place with a 14-12, 11-9, 12-10 win over fifth seed Samarth Shekhawat of Baroda.
Earlier in the semis, Harshvardhan defeated Samarth 11-1, 11-7, 12-10, 11-7 while Himansh battled it out for a 12-10, 8-11, 11-3, 6-11, 11-7, 11-8 win over Arya.
Title for Arya
Arya did not return empty-handed as the youngster took the under-13 crown with a 7-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-4, 11-13, 11-7 win over sixth seed Vivaan Dave of Surat in the final.
Meanwhile, Samarth, who was the second seed, took the third place with an 11-9, 14-12, 7-11, 9-11, 11-5 win over fourth seed Malav Panchal of Ahmedabad.
In semis, which recorded some upset wins, fifth seed Arya beat Malav 9-11, 11-4, 6-11, 11-6, 12-10 while Vivaan got better of Samarth for a 12-10, 8-11, 6-11, 11-7, 11-8 win.
Pratha takes U13 crown
Pratha Pawar made it a hattrick of wins for Ahmedabad as the top seed beat teammate and second seed Hiya Singh 11-7, 11-8, 11-6, 11-4 to win the under-13 Cadet Girls’ title.
Fourth seed Jiya Trivedi of Ahmedabad shocked teammate and third seed Moubini Chatterjee 11-8, 8-11, 11-8, 4-11, 11-6 for a third-place finish.
Earlier in the semis, Hiya beat Moubini 11-8, 11-13, 11-4, 11-3 while Pratha stamped her class with an 11-5, 11-9, 11-6 win over Jiya.
Arnee wins it for Surat
Arnee Parmar not only denied Pratha her second title of the day but also stopped a sweep by Ahmedabad paddlers as the second seed from Surat won the Sub-Junior Girls title with a fighting 11-7, 11-6, 10-12, 7-11, 11-3, 11-8 win over her unseeded opponent.
Bhavnagar’s Riya Jayswal took the third place with an 11-5, 9-11, 10-12, 11-7, 11-9 win over Navsari’s Siddhi Bulsara.
Earlier in the semis, Arnee beat Siddhi 11-9, 6-11, 11-4, 11-9, 11-8 while Pratha recorded a thrilling 7-11, 11-9, 10-12, 6-11, 12-10, 11-8, 11-9 win over Riya in what could be termed as the match of the day.