Jennifer Varghese converted her first final of a National ranking tournament into her maiden cadet girls’ title on the concluding day of the UTT West Zone National Ranking Table tennis tournament here on Sunday.
On a hectic Sunday at the Smt. Sulochanadevi Singhani school where cadet (under-12) and sub-junior (under-15) boys and girls played six rounds each, Maharashtra’s Jennifer held her nerve to edge past Sharvani Nagan of Tamil Nadu in the match of the day.
The 11-year-old paddler, who trains under Ujwal Wani at the Titan Club in Nagpur, showed her mettle and composure in the decider. Thanks to her rally game, she registered a narrow 10-12, 11-5, 8-11, 11-8, 11-7, 3-11, 11-9 win before bursting into celebratory tears.
Straight-game wins
While S. Preyesh Raj of Tamil Nadu and Priyanuj Bhattacharya of PSPBA rolled over their respective opponents in straight games to win the sub-junior and cadet boys’ crown, respectively, Haryana’s Suhana Saina wiped off a 2-0 deficit to overcome familiar foe Lakshita Narang of Delhi 4-2 in the sub-junior girls’ final.
Suhana, having barely recovered from a viral infection, used the depth of the table well to force Lakshita into errors and win her second zonal title of the season.
While the Maharashtra paddlers will start vying for honours in the State Championship in Pune from Sunday evening, the national caravan will move to Bhavnagar for the Central Zone National ranking tournament, starting November 7.
The results: Sub-junior: Boys: Final: S. Preyesh Raj (TN) bt Aadil Anand (Mah) 11-4, 11-9, 11-8, 11-6. Semifinals: Aadil bt Tharun Shanmugham (TN) 11-7, 11-4, 11-7, 11-6; Preyesh bt Ankur Bhattacharjea (WB) 11-5, 11-8, 11-6, 11-7.
Girls: Final: Suhana Saini (Har) bt Lakshita Narang (Del) 4-11, 6-11, 13-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-7. Semifinals: Suhana bt Pritha Vartikar (Mah) 11-9, 11-7, 11-5, 7-11, 13-11; Lakshita bt Taneesha Kotecha (Mah) 11-8, 12-10, 15-13, 11-7.
Cadet: Boys: Final: Priyanuj Bhattacharya (PSPBA) bt Divyaj Roy Rajkhowa (PSPBA) 12-10, 14-12, 17-15, 11-9. Semifinals: Priyanuj bt K. Segal Singh (PSPBA) 11-8, 8-11, 11-5, 11-7; Divyaj bt Hriday Deshpande (Mah) 11-9, 11-4, 9-11, 11-4.
Girls: Final: Jennifer Varghese (Mah) bt Sharvani Nagam (TN) 10-12, 11-5, 8-11, 11-8, 11-7, 3-11, 11-9. Semifinals: Jennifer bt M. Hansini (TN) 2-11, 11-7, 11-8, 10-12, 11-4; Sharvani bt Nandini Saha (WB) 6-11, 11-6, 3-11, 11-5, 11-4.
