Showing glimpses of his class, Sharath Kamal stopped a resurgent Soumyajit Ghosh to win the UTT National-ranking table tennis title on Thursday.
In the presence of Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, Sharath changed gears at will during his 6-11, 11-5, 11-2, 11-7, 6-11, 9-11, 11-6 victory over a fellow former National champion.
In the women’s title-match, featuring two first-time finalists, Prapti Sen fought back thrice from deficit to overcome her good friend Swastika Ghosh 4-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-9, 15-13 at Punchkula’s Devi Lal Stadium.
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Though the men’s title-clash went the distance, Sharath never looked in serious danger of losing even after Soumyajit battled back from 1-3 to draw level.
After Soumyajit won the sixth set after being 0-5 down, it was Sharath who moved from 0-2 to 8-2 in the decider to ensure there was no more drama.
“I was surprised by the sharpness of some of Ghosh’s shots,” acknowledged Sharath as he looked back at the final.
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Good workout
“This was good practice for me ahead of the events in Tunisia and Slovenia. Must admit, I have not been in great mind-space after what transpired following the Tokyo Games. But I surprised myself with the way I dealt with the challenges here.”
Sharath’s first ranking title since the 2016 South Zone event at Visakhapatnam fetched him ₹84,000. Soumyajit, who said he was playing at almost 90% of his form of early 2018, gained ₹42,000. Prapti was richer by ₹72,000 and Swastika collected ₹36,000.
The results:Men: Final: Sharath Kamal bt Soumyajit Ghosh 6-11, 11-5, 11-2, 11-7, 6-11, 9-11, 11-6.
Semifinals: Sharath bt Harmeet Desai 11-8, 8-11, 4-11; 7-11, 11-4, 11-9, 12-10; Soumyajit bt Manav Thakkar 14-16, 11-5, 11-6, 13-11, 6-11, 9-11, 14-12.
Women: Final: Prapti Sen bt Swastika Ghosh 4-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-9, 15-13;
Semifinals: Prapti bt Takeme Sarkar 15-13, 6-11, 11-9, 11-9, 12-10; Swastika bt Anusha Kutumbale 11-9, 12-10, 11-7, 11-6 .