There was no doubt about the category of Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) teams in the Senior National and Inter-State Table Tennis Championships here, but only about the margin of victory in the summit clash.
The men’s team retained the title (25th overall), while its women (16th) took the crown with an equal 3–0 victory over the Maharashtra-A teams.
It was believed that Maharashtra women’s team would give a tough competition to PSPB, but it was completely one-sided. Also, PSPB had not won the title in the last two editions (2018 and 2019) by finishing runner-up and third place respectively.
None of them, be it Diya Chitale, India’s joint No. 1 in the domestic rankings, Swastika Ghosh, or Ananya Basak will be able to match against PSPB.
In the first tie, Archana Kamath defeated Diya in three straight games and Manika Batra was briefly troubled by Swastika Ghosh before the national champions gave a tough fight later. Reeth Rishi completed the formalities with a hard-fought victory over Ananya.
Although the PSPB men’s team won 3–0, the first two matches went a long way.
Yes. Sathiyan and Deepit Rajesh Patil had their best first match, and could have upset the championship if 18-year-old Deepit won crucial moments in the tie. There were no signs of Deepit’s return in the first game as Sathiyan first registered a 11-0 win. But, midway through, the young man started showing his flair.
Deepit’s reverse serves top-spin and matches Sathiyan point for a forehand stroke point. But the 29-year-old is back in cruise control when the reigning national champion is crucial.
In the second match, Harmeet Desai fought hard to defeat Siddhesh Pandey before Manav Thakkar put it on Jash Modi. Sharath Kamal was rested for the match.
Result (Finals):Male: PSPB bt Maharashtra-A 3-0 (G Sathiyan bt Deepit Rajesh Patil 11-0, 10-12, 9-11, 11-5, 11-8, Harmeet Desai bt Siddhesh Pandey 11-3, 11-3, 2 – 11, 11-7, Manav Thakkar bt Jash Modi 10-12, 11-1, 11-4, 12-10).
women: PSPB bt Maharashtra-A 3-0 (Archana Kamath bt Diya Chitale 11-2, 11-7, 11-5, Manika Batra bt Swastika Ghosh 11-4, 11-7, 15-13, Reeth Rishi bt Ananya Basak 11- 6, 5-11, 11-8, 11-7)).