For Sharath Kamal and Madhurika Patkar, the long wait for a National table tennis title is finally over.
On Sunday, Sharath’s six-year wait for a seventh singles title ended when he overpowered two-time winner Soumyajit Ghosh in six games. For Madhurika, it was her first, after beating a seven-time winner and 11-time finalist Poulomi Ghatak in straight games.
At 34, Sharath showed the kind of stuff he is made of. Before Sharath made light of a 1-8 deficit in the third game to script a 11-8, 6-11, 11-9, 3-11, 11-8, 11-5 in the final, he had to encounter battle from the brink of ouster in the semifinals.
Sharath overcame Harmeet Desai 11-8, 11-5, 7-11, 10-12, 7-11, 14-12, 11-9 after saving two match-points at 8-10 in the sixth game. In the deciding game, Sharath trailed 1-5 but battled all the way to hold five match-points at 10-5. Thereafter, Desai played four brilliant points to make it 9-10 but netted a service return in to the net to let Sharath get away to the final.
“I think, the final was my best match of the week. I think, in the final, Ghosh lacked the energy with which he normally plays. He played doubles too and that took its toll,” said a generous Sharath after the final.
“Against Harmeet, it was tough because he refused to give any negative points and that frustrated me. That was tough.”
Like Sharath, Madhurika, too, reaped a rich reward for her perseverance.
The moment Poulomi netted a return on match-point, an emotional Madhurika sank to her knees and shed tears of joy.
On the way to the title, Madhurika was severely tested in the first round Selvadeepthi in the second round and Moumita Datta in the pre-quarterfinals, both matches going the distance. But soon it was clear that Madhurika had saved her best for the last.
The results (prefix denotes seedings):
Men (final): 1-Sharath Kamal (Pet) bt Soumyajit Ghosh (Har) 11-8, 6-11, 11-9, 3-11, 11-8, 11-5. Semifinals: Sharath bt 5-Harmeet Desai (Pet) 11-8, 11-5, 7-11, 10-12, 7-11, 14-12, 11-9; Ghosh bt 2-G. Sathiyan (Pet) 12-10, 11-7, 11-6, 4-11, 11-4. Quarterfinals: Sharath bt Subhajit Saha (Pet) 11-6, 11-4, 11-6, 11-7; Desai bt 4-Sanil Shetty (Pet) 11-7, 11-8, 11-8, 11-6; Ghosh bt 3-A. Amalraj (Pet) 11-7, 11-8, 11-9, 11-3; Sathiyan bt Devesh Karia (Guj) 8-11, 11-9, 11-2, 11-4, 11-4.
Women: (final): 1-Madhurika Patkar (Pet) bt Poulomi Ghatak (Pet) 11-5, 11-9, 11-5, 12-10. semifinals: Madhurika bt 5-Manika Batra 7-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-8, 10-12, 11-8; Poulomi bt 6-Pooja Sahasrabudhe 11-8, 11-5, 12-10, 11-8. Quarterfinals: Madhurika bt Krittwika Sinha Roy (WB) 11-5, 11-9, 11-9, 15-13; Manika bt Nikhat Banu (Tel) 8-11, 11-7, 11-6, 10-12, 5-11, 11-8, 11-4; Pooja bt Shreya Ghosh (WB) 11-2, 11-9, 11-4, 11-9; Poulomi bt Archana Kamath 11-7, 11-6, 8-11, 6-11, 11-7, 4-11, 11-4.
Men doubles: (final): 1-Soumyajit Ghosh & Jubin Kumar (Har) bt Sushmit Sriram & Anirban Ghosh (AAI) 11-3, 7-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-5. Semifinals: Ghosh & Jubin bt 4-Arjun Ghosh & Surajit Das (WB) 11-9, 10-12, 11-4, 11-8; Sushmit & Anirban bt 7-Sourav Saha & Mohit Verma (Har) 10-12, 11-9, 11-5, 11-7.
Women doubles: (final): 1-Anindita Chakraborty & Sutritha Mukherjee (WB) bt 2-Poulomi Ghatak & Mouma Das (Pet) 11-8, 11-8, 4-11, 7-11, 11-3. Semifinals: Anindita and Sutirtha bt Maria Roy & Seraha Jacob (Ker) 12-10, 11-7, 11-7; Poulomi & Mouma bt 7-Sagarika Mukherjee & Takeme Sarkar (NB) 11-9, 11-8, 11-7.
Mixed doubles: (final): 2-Arjun Ghosh & Sutritha Mukherjee (WB) bt 4-Sanil Shetty & Pooja Sahasrabudhe (Pet) 11-9, 11-5, 11-9. Semifinals: Shetty & Pooja bt 1-G. Sathiyan & Reeth Rishya (Pet) 11-7, 13-15, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9. Arjun & Sutirtha bt T. Nitin & Swetha Kumaravel (Kar) 12-10, 11-13, 13-11, 11-8.
