Manush Shah, Frenaz Chipa win Men’s, Women’s titles
1st Gujarat State Ranking Table Tennis Tournament 2021 (Phase II) – Jamnagar
(Winners Manush Shah, Frenaz Chipia, Ishaan Hingorani, Chitrax Bhatt, Riya Jayswal, Pratha Pawar etc)
JAMNAGAR, SEPT. 26: Manush Shah and Frenaz Chipia grabbed the headlines as the champion paddlers won the Men’s and Women’s titles, respectively, at 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).
At the JMC Complex Indoor Stadium in Jamnagar, the final day of the tournament ended on expected lines as Baroda’s Manush, the top seed who is playing his first state tournament of the season, defeated third seed Ishaan Hingorani of Kachchh 11-7, 11-5, 11-6, 9-11, 11-7 in the Men’s final.
Frenaz was the overwhelming favourite for the Women’s crown and the top seed from Surat did not disappoint as she ended an inspired run of Bhavnagar’s Prathna Parmar, the seventh seed, with an 11-8, 9-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-3 win in the final.
The Junior Boys’ (U-17) final too ended on the expected lines as top seed Burhanuddin Malubhai of Surat edged out teammate and second seed Shlok Bajaj 11-4, 11-9, 15-13, 11-5 for the title.
But the biggest surprise of the tournament would be the Junior Girls’ (U-17) category where seventh seed Pratha Pawar of Ahmedabad beat eighth seed Sheli Patel of Baroda 11-7, 11-8, 7-11, 11-8, 12-10 in the final to win the title.
Meanwhile, in the Men’s draw, second seed and Junior Boys’ (U-19) champion Chitrax Bhatt of Ahmedabad settled for the third-place finish with his 11-3, 5-11, 11-4, 7-11, 11-7 win over teammate and fifth seed Dhairya Parmar.
In the semis, Manush beat Dhairya 11-9, 11-1, 12-10, 11-3 while Ishaan ended Chitrax’s hope for another title in the tournament with an 11-3, 6-11, 11-8, 11-9, 10-12, 11-13, 12-10 win.
In the quarters, Chitrax defeated Harshil Kothari of Bhavnagar 11-6, 11-7, 7-11, 7-11, 11-6, 11-8 while Ishaan edged out Jaynil Mehta of Rajkot 11-5, 13-11, 11-6, 7-11, 11-9.
Dhairya shocked fourth seed Kaushal Bhatt of Bhavnagar 7-11, 11-5, 11-5, 6-11, 11-5, 11-7 while Manush got better of eighth seed Jignesh Jayswal after the seasoned campaigner from Bhavnagar conceded the tie due to medical reasons while trailing 3-11, 6-11.
In the Women’s draw, fourth seed Kausha Bhairapure of Ahmedabad took third place with 9-11, 13-11, 11-5, 12-10 win over sixth seed Aafrien Murad of Surat.
Earlier in the semis, Frenaz breezed past Kausha with an 11-5, 11-4, 11-4, 11-1 win while Prathna shocked Aafrien 11-8, 11-5, 11-7, 11-4.
In the quarters, Frenaz edged out teammate Milli Tanna 11-4, 9-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-4 while Kausha came from being two games down to beat fifth seed Namna Jayswal of Bhavnagar 7-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-7, 15-13, 11-4.
Aafrien shocked teammate and third seed Bhavya Jayswal 11-8, 11-7, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9 while Prathna created a flutter with her
12-14, 11-7, 11-6, 11-5, 11-4 win over second seed Filzah Fatema Kadri of Surat, the Junior Girls’ (U-19) champion.
Meanwhile, in the Junior Boys’ (U-17) category, fourth seed Shlok Malpani of Surat took third place with an 11-8, 12-10, 11-8 win over third seed Arman Shaikh of Aravalli.
In the semis, Shlok overcame a mid-game slump to beat Arman 11-5, 11-7, 8-11, 6-11, 11-6, 11-2 while Burhanuddin defeated Shlok 11-6, 11-9, 12-10, 11-9.
In the quarters, Shlok edged out Harshvardhan Patel of Aravalli 11-4, 11-9, 11-8, 11-5 while Arman beat Ahmedabad’s Himansh Dahiya 11-7, 2-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-4. Shlok came from a game down to beat fifth seed Janmejay Patel of Aravalli 8-11, 11-9, 11-4, 11-9, 6-11, 12-10 while Burhanuddin edged out eighth seed Aayush Tanna of Surat 17-15, 11-6, 11-5, 11-9.
On the other hand, in the Junior Girls’ (U-17) category, fourth seed Riya Jayswal of Bhavnagar recorded an 11-8, 11-5, 6-11, 13-11 upset win over third seed Arnee Parmar of Surat to take the third place.
In the semis, Sheli shocked Riya 11-3, 11-9, 4-11, 11-6, 13-11 while Pratha upset Arnee for an 11-6, 6-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-9 win.
In the quarters, Sheli recorded a big upset with her 11-13, 11-9, 11-9, 7-11, 11-9, 2-11, 11-7 win over top seed Milli while Pratha came from a game down to beat teammate and second seed Nidhi Prajapati 4-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-5, 14-12.
Riya beat fifth seed Rutva Kothari of Bhavnagar 12-10, 11-7, 10-12, 11-6, 3-11, 11-8 while Arnee got better of sixth seed Khushi Jadav of Bhavnagar for an 11-7, 11-6, 6-11, 11-8, 11-1 win.