UP boy on verge of winning title

NZ T-T Kanpur’s Abhishek makes it to his maiden men’s singles final with a 4-3 win in semi-finals

LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh’s paddler Abhishek Yadav made his presence felt at the North Zone National Ranking Table Tennis Championship on Sunday, making it to the final of the men’s singles in style at Agra.

Kanpur’s Yadav, while representing Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) defeated Harmeet Desai 4-3 in a gripping semifinal, at the Eklavya Indoor Stadium.

To bag his maiden title of the men’s singles category, Abhishek has to really try hard against the battle-scarred Devesh Karia of Gujarat who would want to add the silverware to his recent trophy collection, when the two face each other on Monday.

The Gujarat paddler, who beat Lalrin Puia of PSPB Academy 4-1 in the second semi-final, began the season on a bright note winning the men’s title at the Central Zone event, just a month ago at Indore.

Harmeet Desai, playing in his first zonal this season, was rusty and it was showing when he took on southpaw Abhishek Yadav in the first semi-final on Sunday afternoon.

Yadav, who lost in the semi-finals at Durgapur, was really positive right from the word go and it reflected in his approach to the match. But unlike him, Desai was taking a cautious route which, in the final analysis, cost him the match.

Yadav attacked well, kept the ball in play and when opportunity presented he sent down scorching winners several times which upset the rhythm of Desai. But trailing 0-2, Desai came to his self and paid back Yadav in the same way.

He executed fine strokes from flanks and covered the left-hander’s return angles well to take the next game.

But in the fourth, Yadav won the extended game after three deuces. In between, Desai managed take a game off his opponent but that was all he could do as Yadav surged ahead with a huge margin to finish the match.

Yadav admitted that his fourth game was crucial. “He (Harmeet) played really well in the fourth and it could have been anybody’s game. I think I turned it around my way after a few deuces,” said Yadav. Desai, complimenting his young opponent, echoed Yadav’s views. “Yes, the fourth game was crucial. Had it come my way, things would have been different,” said Desai, who leaves for Stockholm tonight to play in the Swedish league.

But for Karia, it was more or less a cakewalk against an inexperienced Lalrin Puia. But credit should be given to the Academy’s defensive player who managed to take a game off his prominent challenger. Karia, aware of the pitfalls, was confident of a good showing. “I hope my experience comes in handy,” he said, referring to what happened at Indore where he was taking on top-seeded G. Sathiyan. The latter, who won back-to-back titles at Gandhidham and Durgapur, skipped this meet to play in the Russian Open.

In women’s singles quarterfinals, Suthirtha Mukherjee thrashed Manika Batra 4-0, Mouma Das downed Krittwika Sinha Roy 4-1, Ankita Das came from behind to beat Poulomi Ghatak 4-3 and Divya Deshpande accounted for Anindita Chakraborty 4-1.

The Youth Boys and Youth Girls have also entered the quarterfinal stage with the matches continuing into late evening.

The women’s singles semifinals along with Youth Boys and Youth Girls will be played tomorrow followed by all four finals on the concluding day.