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Kolkata - Teenager Soumyajit Ghosh and veteran Poulomi Ghatak captured the singles and doubles crowns at the 42nd All-India Inter-Institutional Table Tennis Championships here Monday.
Twenty-year-old Ghosh anointed himself the new men’s singles champion by riding past seasoned campaigner Sharath Kamal 4-1 in the final at the Khudiram Anushilan Kendra. Ghosh had earlier teamed up with Harmeet Desai to win the doubles trophy.
Ghatak accounted for Divya Deshpande 4-1 in the women’s singles title clash before partnering Mouma Das to the doubles triumph.
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When Sharath pushed the ball into the net in what was Soumyajit’s third championship point, it was all over. A top-class paddler that he is, Sharath could not but appreciate Soumyajit’s victory and gave him a warm embrace. The title-triumph was worth Rs 75,000 for Soumyajit, who represented India at the recent London Olympics.
The 19-year-old showed plenty of courage and outscored his rival whenever he got the opportunity. Sharath, after opening up a sizeable lead in the first three games conceded the advantage to the youngster who matched the World No. 73 shot for shot.
In the fifth game, the see-saw battle got extended a bit despite Soumyajit leading 10-8. Sharath saved two championship points and seemed determined to take the matter to the next game. But the lead kept changing hands and at 14-13, the end came when Sharath pushed the ball into net. A triumphant Soumyajit threw his hands up in celebration for his first major title.
“This was the best match I ever played. To beat Sharath, I needed to bring out my best and I did exactly that,” he said.
Results: (All Finals)
Men’s singles: Soumyajit Ghosh (PSPB) bt Achanta Sharath Kamal (PSPB)
4-1 (15-13, 11-7, 11-9, 9-11, 15-13).
Doubles: Harmeet Desai/Soumyajit Ghosh (PSPB) bt Devesh Karia/Sayan
Paul Roy (CRSB) 4-1 (10-12, 13-11, 11-8, 11-8).
Women’s singles: Poulomi Ghatak (PSPB) bt Divya Deshpande (PSPB) 4-1
(10-12, 11-7, 11-8, 11-7, 11-8).
Doubles: Poulomi Ghatak/Mouma Das (PSPB) bt K. Shamini/Mousmi Paul (PSPB) 3-2 (10-12, 10-12, 11-2, 12-10, 12-10).
