Experience pays off for Roy, Mythili

By Our Special Correspondent

KOLKATA, AUG. 2. Ultimately class and experience prevailed over youthful exuberance in the National ranking (East) table tennis championship at the Khudiram Indoor Hall here on Thursday.

The men's top seed Soumyadeep Roy of Petroleum Sports Control Board (PSCB) found his teammate and second seed Subhajit Saha too inconsistent in the final to lift the first title of the season with a 11-9, 13-11, 9-11, 11-9, 5-11, 11-5 verdict after a 45- minute battle.

Experienced M.S. Mythili, also of PSCB, runner-up to Poulami Ghatak at the Cuttack Nationals earlier this year, made sure of the women's crown by humbling a nervous Nandita Saha of Bengal in a one-sided contest. The third-seeded Mythili won 11-3, 11-7, 11- 7, 11-9.

Arunava Ganguly, representing PSCB Academy, Ajmer in Rajasthan, trailing 1-2, recovered remarkably to subdue unseeded Subhadip Das of Bengal to lift the boys' title. He won 11-6, 9- 11, 6-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-5. Top seed Sushmita Roy of Railways confirmed her status as the best girl player in the country with a tremendous victory against second seed from Bengal, Moushumi Paul. Sushmita, down 0-3 and staring at certain defeat, powered to a thrilling 4- 3 victory. The Railways girl won 9-11, 7-11, 9- 11, 11-2, 11-7, 11-9, 15-13.

Roy, the reigning National champion, gained tremendously from his victory at the Cuttack Nationals. His victory over Chetan P. Baboor there not only reinforced his self belief but also gave him the confidence of being the best in the country. This has done him a world of good. Throughout this meet he played confidently and convincingly. Saha, expected to put up a good fight, failed badly with very inconsistent play. He made too many unforced errors and most importantly played the crucial points carelessly.

Despite enjoying a good lead in the first two games, Saha failed to hang on to it and conceded the two games to Roy. The top seed seemed to have lapsed in concentration in the third to lose 9-11 before taking the fourth at 11-9. Saha raced to an early but decisive lead in the fifth as Roy conceded the game without any fight. The sixth game was different as Roy had a strong grip from start till the end.

The contest produced some enthralling rallies, especially away from the table as the two traded shot for shot. If Roy played like a soldier brought up on a system, Saha showed a lot of flair and variation without being consistent.

Team announced

An eight-member Indian table tennis team will participate in the Pyong Yang international meet to be held from August 13 to 17, the Table Tennis Federation of India announced here on Thursday.

The squad: Men: Soumyadeep Roy, Subhajit Saha, Sivaji Dutta and Bhusan Thakur. Women: Mantu Ghosh, Poulami Ghatak, N.R. Indu and Anindita Chakraborty. Coach: Mr. Kamlesh Mehta.

The results (all finals): Men's singles: (1) Soumyadeep Roy (PSCB) bt (2) Subhajit Saha (PSCB) 11-9, 13-11, 9-11, 11-9, 5-11, 11-5.

Women's singles: (3) M.S. Mythili (PSCB) bt Nandita Saha (Ben) 11-3, 11-7, 11-7, 11-9.

Boys' singles: (1) Arunava Ganguly (PSCB-A) bt Subhadip Das (Ben) 11-9, 9-11, 6-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11- 5.

Girls' singles: (1) Sushmita Roy (Ben/Rly) bt (2) Moushumi Paul (Ben) 9-11, 7-11, 9-11, 11-2, 11- 7, 11-9, 15-13.

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