Pratha, Sujal win Cadet titles at 1st Gujarat State Ranking Table Tennis Tournament 2021

MODASA, Sept 18: Ahmedabad’s Pratha Pawar added another trophy to her growing cabinet while Bhavnagar’s Sujal Kukadia rekindled hope for one of Gujarat’s traditional powerhouses as they won the Cadet crowns at the 1st Gujarat State Ranking Table Tennis Tournament 2021, that is being supported by ML Gandhi Higher Education Society and Rotary Club, Aravalli and organised by Aravalli District Table Tennis Association under the aegis of Gujarat State Table Tennis Association.

Top seed Pratha, who had shown promising results in the post-pandemic age with some scintillating performances, beat teammate and third seed Moubini Chatterjee 11-7, 11-6, 11-6, 12-10 to win the Cadet Girls’ (U-13) title.

Second seed Hiya Singh of Ahmedabad settled for the third-place finish with an 11-9, 11-3, 10-12, 11-6 win over teammate and fourth seed Jiya Trivedi.

Earlier in the semis, Pratha beat Jiya 9-11, 11-7, 12-10, 11-5 while Moubini shocked Hiya with a fighting 17-15, 8-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-8 win.

The Cadet Boys’ section was full of surprises with fourth seed Sujal showing promise in his 11-4, 8-11, 11-7, 3-11, 11-8, 11-6 win over third seed Vivaan Dave of Surat in the final.

Top seed Samarth Shekhawat of Baroda beat second seed Aarya Kataria of Ahmedabad 11-7, 9-11, 6-11, 11-8, 11-8 to settle for the third place.

In the semis, Sujal Kukadia shocked Samarth 11-6, 5-11, 11-9, 11-7 while Vivaan edged out Aarya 11-5, 9-11, 6-11, 12-10, 11-9.

On the other hand, Surat’s Krisha Patel and Vivaan became the first-ever Hopes (U-11) winners at the State Ranking Tournament.

In the Hopes Girls’ final, Krisha edged out Bhavnagar’s Charmi Trivedi 11-4, 11-3, 11-9, 11-9 to win the title.

Surat’s Vishruti Jadhav took third place with an 11-9, 12-10, 6-11, 11-7 win over teammate Richa Rawat.

Earlier in the semis, Krisha beat Richa 11-1, 4-11, 11-4, 11-5 while Charmi defeated Vishruti 11-9, 11-2, 11-5.

In the Hopes Boys’ category, Vivaan came from a game down to beat teammate Hridan Patel 10-12, 11-8, 11-7, 11-6, 11-4 in the final.

Ahmedabad’s Taksh Shah took third place with a 9-11, 11-4, 11-7, 13-11 win over Rajkot’s Divya Patel.

In the semis, Vivaan beat Taksh 11-4, 11-5, 11-7 while Hridan Patel recorded a 9-11, 11-9, 11-4, 11-6 comeback win over Divya.