PSPB’s Sharath Kamal, the country’s highest-ranked player in the world, has not been tested so far in the 75th Senior National table tennis championships.
His 11-2, 11-4, 11-8, 11-4 victory over Sourav Chakraborty (Haryana) in the men’s quarterfinals gave ample indication that the platinum jubilee championship is his to lose.
With defending champion Soumyajit Ghosh going down to Harmeet Desai 11-9, 7-11, 12-10, 11-5, 11-9 in the last-eight clash, Sharath now stands a good chance of claiming the seventh National crown.
“Even otherwise I think this is my best chance. I have been in good shape. My semifinal clash with Desai, though, will be tough,” said Sharath.
For the old warhorse Soumyadeep Roy, this will be a tournament to remember.
He gave glimpses of his old self as he registered a superb 11-5, 11-9, 7-11, 11-9, 11-9 quarterfinal win over Shudhanshu Grover of Rajasthan, who upset Amalraj (PSPB), the second seed, in the pre-quarterfinals.
Roy will take on Sanil Shetty (PSPB) in the other semifinal. Sanil overcame a tricky opponent in G. Sathiyan 11-7, 11-7, 8-11 11-7, 11-6, 11-9.Two new faces — Krittwika Sinha Roy (AAI) and PSPB’s T. Reeth Rishya — emerged in the women’s semifinals.
Krittwika upset the top-seeded Madhurika Patkar (PSPB) while Reeth overcame Pooja Sahasrabudhe (PSPB), the second seed, in the quarterfinals.
Krittwika faced some anxious moments at 10-6 in the seventh and deciding game against Madhurika. After fluffing two match points, the 19-year-old enjoyed her maiden entry in semifinals after the top seed sent a forehand long.
Krittwika will take on defending champion Shamini, while Reeth will lock horns with Ankita Das, who shut out the seven-time champion Poulomi Ghatak for the loss of just one game.
The results: Men: Quarterfinals: Sharath Kamal (PSPB) bt Sourav Chakraborty (Har) 11-2, 11-4, 11-8, 11-4; Sanil Shetty (PSPB) bt G.Sathiyan (PSPB) 11-7, 11-7, 8-11 11-7, 11-6, 11-9; Harmeet Desai (PSPB) bt Soumyajit Ghosh (PSPB) 11-9, 7-11, 12-10, 11-5, 11-9; Soumyadeep Roy (PSPB) bt Shudhanshu Grover (Raj) 11-5, 11-9, 7-11, 11-9, 11-9.
Pre-quarterfinals: Sharath bt Lalrin Puia (PSPB) 4-0; Sourav bt Sourav Saha (Har) 4-1; Ghosh bt Devesh Karia (Guj) 4-0; Desai bt Abhishek Yadav (PSPB) 4-0; Sanil bt Arjun Ghosh (WB) 4-0; Sathiyan bt Anirban Ghosh (WB) 4-0; Soumyadeep bt Nitin Thiruvengadam (TN) 4-3; Shudhanshu Grover (Raj) bt Amalraj (PSPB) 4-3.
Women: Pre-quarterfinals: Madhurika Patkar (PSPB) bt Mousmi Paul (WB) 11-9, 11-7, 11-7, 11-6; Krittwika Sinha Roy (AAI) bt Manika Batra (Del) 15-13, 9-11, 11-6, 2-11, 11-5, 11-5; Mouma Das (WB) bt Divya Deshpande (Haryana ‘A’) 8-11 11-9, 11-7, 12-10, 3-11, 11-8; K. Shamini (PSPB) bt Ayhika Mukherjee (AAI) 12-10, 11-4, 11-7, 11-9; Ankita Das (NB) bt Sutirtha Mukherjee (WB) 13-11, 8-11, 7-11, 13-11, 11-7, 11-7; Poulomi Ghatak (WB) bt Anandita Chakraborty (RSPB) 11-9, 13-11, 11-5, 11-9; T. Reeth Rishya (PSPB) bt Neha Aggarwal (Del) 8-11, 11-7, 13-11, 11-13, 11-4, 3-11, 11-7; Pooja Sahasrabudhe (PSPB) bt Nikhat Bhanu (AAI) 11-2, 9-11, 11-7, 6-11; 13-11, 11-3.
Friday’s results: First round: Men: Sharath bt Vishal (AP) 4-0; Lalrin bt E. Prabhakaran (RSPB) 4-2; Sivananda Seshadri (TN) bt Birdie Boro (Asm) 4-0; Souvik Roy (RBI) bt L. Sachin (RSPB) 4-3; Sourav Saha (WB) bt Asif Haque (Ori) 4-1; Soumyajit bt Sourav Poddar (UP) 4-0; Sushmit Sriram (TN) bt Nishaad Shah (Mah ‘A’) 4-3; Harmeet bt Rohan Joshi (MP) 4-0; Sanil bt S. Prasanna (TN) 4-0; Arjun bt Jubin Kumar (Har) 4-1; Subhajit bt Mishal Dilawar (Ker) 4-0; Anirban bt R. Rajesh (LIC) 4-1; G. Sathiyan (PSPB) bt Anirban Roy Choudhary (Kar) 4-1; Nitin bt Shivaji Roy (Jhr) 4-0.
