Lucknow lad Divyansh wins a silver again in ranking table tennis
LUCKNOW: Lucknow’s Divyansh Srivastava did it again in style, winning his second silver medal at the national ranking table tennis championship at Guwahati.
After winning a silver medal at the North Zone National Ranking Table Tennis Tournament in New Delhi, early this month, Divyansh lost to Delhi Payas Jain ) 4-3 (11-9, 12-14, 11-13, 8-11, 12-10, 11-7, 11-7 in the cadet boys final.
At 3-1 lead, Divyansh was cruising towards his second title, but Payas had other ideas as was evident with his attacking posture which brought him the desired results. Once under attack, Divyansh wilted and succumbed to the guile of the Delhi boy, who also won the North Zone singles.
Being coached by Yogendra Agarwal at the Northern Railway Table Tennis Academy here, Divyansh had a resounding 3-1 win against Vishwa Deenadayalan of Tamil Nadu in the semi-final.
Divyansh had a gold medal at the Central Zone Ranking Championship at Jamnagar last month, before winning a bronze medal at the South Zone Championship at Chennai.
“In fact, I need to work hard on my confidence at crucial juncture,” Divyansh told HT on Sunday. “If I have to win gold at the national championship, I have to be more focussed and after this loss at Guwahati, I have learnt many things.”
Coach Yogendra appeared a bit disappointed too. “Certainly, Divyansh had to win the title, but somehow he succumbed to pressure at the crucial juncture. I am working hard on this aspect, and hopeful to see some good results in days to come.”
Over the next 20 days, Divyansh would be practicing hard at his academy to prepare for the Sub-Junior and cadet Nationals to be held at Kolkata from December 24 to 29. “Winning a gold at Kolkata is my ultimate dream of mine for now,” added Divyansh.
AT 3-1 LEAD, DIVYANSH WAS CRUISING TOWARDS HIS SECOND TITLE, BUT PAYAS HAD OTHER IDEAS AS WAS EVIDENT WITH HIS ATTACKING POSTURE WHICH BROUGHT HIM THE DESIRED RESULTS