Hiya Patel record upset wins on opening day of 1st Gujarat State Ranking Table Tennis Tournament 2021 (Phase II)
1st Gujarat State Ranking Table Tennis Tournament 2021 (Phase II) – Jamnagar
JAMNAGAR, SEPT. 24: Hiya Patel and Astha Mistry shone in the limelight as the youngsters recorded upset wins on the opening day of the 1st Gujarat State Ranking Table Tennis Tournament 2021 (Phase II) organised by Jamnagar District Table Tennis Association under the aegis of Gujarat State Table Tennis Association (GSTTA) from 24th to 26th September, 2021.
At the JMC Complex Indoor Stadium in Jamnagar, Surat’s Hiya edged out Gujarat’s rising star and ninth-ranked Hiya Singh of Ahmedabad to record an 11-9, 11-9, 10-12, 11-8 win in the Junior Girls’ (U-17) first round match.
Navsari’s Astha came from a game down to shock Aravalli’s Shabnam Suthar, who is ranked joint ninth in the state in the category, 8-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-9.
In another match, fifth-ranked Siddhi Bulsara of Navsari eased past Prisha Gokhani of Porbandar for an 11-3, 11-7, 11-4 win.
Meanwhile, Ahmedabad’s Himansh Dahiya, Gujarat’s top-ranked Sub-Junior Boys’ (U-15) paddler, made it to the Junior Boys’ (U-19) main draw.
In Group 8, Himansh recorded dominating (3-0) wins over Bhavnagar’s Nirjar Mashru (13-11, 11-6, 11-7) and Rajkot’s Kushal Godhavia (11-4, 11-6, 11-8). In another match of the group, Nirjar beat Kushal 14-12, 11-6, 11-7.
In Group 1, Bhavnagar’s Nandish Halani made the cut with an 11-2, 11-9, 11-5 win over Valsad’s Pratham Kulkarni and 11-4, 11-8, 11-1 win over Junagarh’s Pavan Detroja. Pratham, in between, beat Pavan 12-10, 11-6, 13-11.
Bhavnagar’s Smitraj Gohil made the cut from Group 2, with wins over Valsad’s Kartikey Agarwal (11-1, 11-2, 11-3) and Porbandar’s Darshan Davji (11-2, 11-2, 11-6). Darshan beat Kartikey 11-6, 9-11, 8-11, 12-10, 11-8 in a closely contested tie.
Ahmedabad’s Harsh Patel too reached the main draw with 9-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-4, 11-9 win over Surat’s Aayush Tanna and 10-12, 11-7, 11-8, 11-8 win over Bhavnagar’s Sahil Makwana from Group 3. Aayush, a promising youngster, recorded an 11-2, 11-9, 11-8 win over Sahil.
Aravalli’s Harvardhan Patel qualified from Group 4 with wins over Valsad’s Vivaan Mehta (11-9, 13-11, 11-8) and Bhavnagar’s Vivek Makwana (11-3, 6-11, 11-7, 13-11). In the opening group match, Vivek beat Vivaan 8-11, 11-4, 11-7, 11-9.
Shlok Malpani made the cut from a closely contested Group 5. The lucky youngster from Surat beat Aravalli’s Nakul Patel 11-6, 13-11, 11-7 but suffered an 11-8, 8-11, 11-13, 9-11 loss against Bhavnagar’s Yash Makwana. Nakul, in between, beat Yash 11-2, 6-11, 14-12, 11-6.
Written by : Pranjal Protim Boruah