Aadarsh triumphs, double for Kavya

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Top seed Aadarsh Om Chetri of Delhi made amends by winning the sub-junior boys title in the National Ranking Table Tennis Championships (South Zone) which concluded at the Jimmy George Indoor Stadium here the other day. In a 45-minute final which went to the wire, Aadarsh got the better of Divyansh Srivastava of Uttar Pradesh 4-3 (8-11, 11-9, 11-6, 8-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-4).
There was nothing to differentiate between the two who are regulars in the national circuit for past couple years. Both unveiled every weapon in their arsenal but were negated. They tried to slow down the pace, dropping close to the net and playing away to the table but it was Aadarsh who showed better match temperament and triumphed in the end. On Monday, in the junior boys final, Aadarsh lost to eventual champion Vishwa Deenadayalan of Tamil Nadu.
Meanwhile, Kavyashree Basker of Chennai picked her second title here when she grabbed the sub-junior girls final beating Taneesha Kotecha of Maharashtra 'A' 4-2 (11-5, 12-10, 10-12, 11-2, 8-11, 11-6). Earlier Kavya, a trainee of Jawahar TT Academy run by Rajath Kamal, elder brother of India's top player Sharath and Rajan VS, had won the newly introduced Talent Identification Event for age group of 13to 15 years, two days ago. The lanky Kavya has dropped out from regular school by opting for open school to pursue her game. "Of course I want to pursue my game to a top level and I dream of bringing an Olympic medal to our nation," said Kavya when asked about quitting regular academics. And she will be appearing for board exam this academic year.
In a lop-sided cadet finals, PB Abhinand, a seventh standard student of Shankara Senior Secondary School, Adayar picked his first national title blanking Priyanuj Bhattacharya of Petroleum Sports Promotion Board's Academy in Ajmer 4-0 ( 11-9, 14-12, 11-9, 11-6) while in the girls summit clash Diya Bramhachary of West Bengal bt M Hansini of TamilNadu 4-1 (11-9, 11-7, 11-8, 4-11, 11-4).
Results BOYS sub-junior final: Aadarsh Om Chetri (Del) bt Divyansh Srivastava (UP) 8-11, 11-9, 11-6, 8-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-4; Semifinals: Aadarsh bt Sarth Mishra (UP) 11-2, 13-15, 11-6, 11-8, 11-3; Divyansh bt Anshuman Agarwal (Goa) 11-13, 11-7, 11-5, 16-14; cadet final: PB Abhinand (TN) bt Priyanuj Bhattacharya (PSPBA) 11-9, 14-12, 11-9, 11-6 ;SFs: Priyanuj bt Umesh Kumar (TN) 7-11, 11-13, 11-6, 13-11, 11-7; Abhinand bt Sudhanshu Maini (Del) 11-2, 11-8, 11-6; GIRLS sub-junior final: Kavyashree Baskar (TN) 11-5, 12-10, 10-12, 11-2, 8-11, 11-6; SFs: Taneesha bt Suhana Saini (Har) 11-9, 11-9, 11-7, 11-7; Kavya bt Lakshita Narang (Del) 11-7, 11-8, 11-3, 11-2; cadet final: Diya Bramhaachary (WB) bt M Hansini (TN) 11-9, 11-7, 11-8, 4-11, 11-4; SFs:Diya bt Sharvani Nagam (TN) 11-4, 14-16, 11-9, 5-11, 11-6;. Hansini bt Nandini Saha (WB) 10-12, 14-12, 10-12, 11-6, 12-10.