Dhruv, Dhimahi take U-11 crown, Dev, Daniya pocket U-13 title
Gandhidham 26, September : Top seed and local boy Dhruv Bhambhani stamped his total authority in the U-11 event after he beat his nemesis and second seed Henil Langaliya of Bhavnagar 3-2 to lift the Hopes Boys’ trophy on the fourth day of the prestigious Jodac Gujarat State and Inter-District Table Tennis Championships 2024 organised by Gujarat State Table Tennis Association (GSTTA) at the Late MP Mittra Indoor Stadium, Haresh Sangtani Sports Complex, Adipur in Gandhidham on Thursday.
The Sports Authority of Gujarat and Kutch District Table Tennis Association (KDTTA)-supported five-day tournament, which carries maximum points in the state TT calendar, is sponsored by Jodac Shipping Line Pvt. Ltd, co-sponsored by State Bank of India, associate sponsored by Kiran Foundation, equipment sponsored by Stiga and Gandhidham Chamber of Commerce & Industries.
Surat-girl and second seed Dhimahi Kabrawala grabbed the Hopes Girls (U-11) title after she romped past 15th seed and giant-killer Arna Tater of Surat 3-0 to win the third title of the season. With this win, Dhimahi leapt past tournament top seed Misha Lakhani of Ahmedabad to take number one position in the state ranking table.
In the cadet (U-13) event, top seeds in boys and girls continued to dominate and remained unbeaten in the tournament.
In the boys’ event, Rajkot’s Dev Bhatt brushed aside second seed Anay Bachhawat of Surat 3-1 to win the fourth title of the season and continued to stay atop state rankings.
In the girls’ event, Surat’s Daniya Godil hardly broke any sweat defeating second seed Khwaish Lotia of Ahmedabad 3-0 to claim fifth title of the season and firmly remained at the top of the ranking table.
The men’s event witnessed two major upsets on the fourth day of the meet when unseeded Bhavin Desai of Valsad took out eight seed Akshit Savla of Ahmedabad 3-2 (11-9, 11-6, 16-14, 12-10, 11-8) in the round of 32.
Later, in the pre-quarterfinal, qualifier Chintan Oza of Rajkot put up a stupendous show as he crushed Bhavin 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-6) to storm into quarterfinals and will now take on top seed Chitrax Bhatt of Ahmedabad.
In the women’s category, top seed Filzahfatema Kadri of Surat survived a scare against 16th seed Radhapriya Goel of Gandhinagar after she lost the opening game but soon collected herself to win her pre-quarterfinal tie 3-2 (8-11, 11-8, 11-9, 4-11, 12-10).
Final scores:
Hopes boys (U-11): Dhruv Bhambhani (1) (KCH) bt Henil Langaliya (2) (BVN) 11-8, 5-11, 11-5, 6-11, 11-3.
3-4 position: Rehansh Singhavi (3) (KCH) bt Ismail Dhupli (4) (SRT) 11-9, 13-11, 9-11, 11-8.
Hopes girls (U-11): Dhimahi Kabrawala (2) (SRT) bt Arna Tater (15) (SRT) 11-7, 11-5, 11-6.
3-4 position: Jency Modi (3) (AHD) bt Rutvi Liya (5) (AHD) 11-5, 11-2, 12-10.
Cadet boys (U-13): Dev Bhatt (1) (RJT) bt Anay Bachhawat (2) (SRT) 11-8, 11-7, 10-12, 11-7.
3-4 position: Nairit Vaidya (3) (KCH) bt Dhruv Bhambhani (5) (KCH) 9-11, 11-9, 3-11, 11-8, 11-6.
Cadet girls (U-13): Daniya Godil (1) (SRT) bt Khwaish Lotia (2) (AHD) 14-12, 16-14, 11-6.
3-4 position: Fiza Pawar (4) (AHD) bt Vincy Tanna (3) (SRT) 11-6, 12-10, 11-9, 8-11, 11-4.
