Even a far from fit Soumyajit Ghosh proved more than a handful for the younger, fitter boys from Delhi. The former National champion from Bengal came good for his adopted state and scored twin-wins to complete Haryana’s double in the team events of the National-ranking table tennis championship (North Zone) here on Monday.
On Sunday, another former National champion Sutirtha Mukherjee led Haryana women to the team title with a 3-0 triumph over Delhi.
Haryana’s 3-1 victory came after Ghosh won the opening singles against young Payas Jain in straight sets and returned for the fourth rubber for a four-set triumph over Parth Virmani to seal the title-match.
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Ghosh, making a comeback this year after missing out the season owing to a suspension, seemed to be playing more from muscle-memory. Clearly overweight, Ghosh did look vulnerable at times but pulled off the big points.
Virmani keeps hopes alive
Virmani kept Delhi in the match after rallying to win the second singles against Jeet Chandra.
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In the third singles, the vastly-experienced Jubin Kumar battled from a 0-2 deficit against a much-younger Utkarsh Gupta. The free-stroking Utkarsh raced away with the first two sets but gave enough indications of losing his steam towards the end of the second.
In the remainder of the contest, left-handed Jubin got his act right and left Utkarsh looking for ways to counter the powerful drives on both flanks.
In the fourth singles, Ghosh took off on the wrong foot against a confident Virmani. But Ghosh’s experience saw him bounce back by taking the close second set and thereafter, he never looked back.
The results (team):
Men (final): Haryana bt Delhi 3-1 (Soumyajit Ghosh bt Payas Jain 13-11, 11-7, 11-5; Jeet Chandra lost to Parth Virmani 4-11, 8-11, 11-8, 6-11; Jubin Kumar bt Utkarsh Gupta 7-11, 10-12, 11-3, 11-7, 11-6; Ghosh bt Virmani 9-11, 11-8, 11-4, 11-6).