Seasoned campaigners produced a string of gripping contests as the 32nd National Masters Table Tennis Championships concluded at the Balewadi Indoor Stadium here, with several finals going the distance across age categories.
In the men’s40+ singles, Mohd. Farooqui Zubair (Telangana) edged past Anal Kashyap (Assam)in a hard-fought five-game encounter, recovering from a slow start to seal the title. Santosh Araswilli and Sujay Chaturvedi (IA&AD) combined effectively to claim the doubles crown.
The men’s 45+singles final was among the most dramatic, with R. Rajesh (Tamil Nadu) staging a remarkable comeback after dropping the first two games to overcome Koushik De Sarkar (West Bengal) in five. De Sarkar, however, found consolation by pairing with Soumik De Sarkar to win the doubles title.
Maharashtra’s Kiran Salian dominated the men’s 50+ singles final, defeating Manish Nepali(Himachal Pradesh) in straight games, but fell short in the doubles, where Mukul Boro and Jagat Singh Bisht (RBI) clinched the title convincingly. In the55+ category, Harsh Chopra (Delhi) bounced back after losing the opening game to beat Ravindra Joshi (Maharashtra), while Jitendra Taori and Kishore Motwani(Madhya Pradesh) took the doubles honours.
In the women’s section, Aishwarya Narasimhan (Karnataka) was in commanding form, overcoming Mayuri Dixit (Maharashtra) in straight games to win the 40+ singles crown. The Telangana duo of Sonal Asrani and Bandaru Kiranmai secured the doubles title after a closely contested final.
Sadiya Vanjara(Maharashtra) emerged victorious in the women’s 45+ singles, winning a tight straight-games contest against Anjana Rao (Karnataka). The doubles title in this category went to Shruti Kanade Joshi and Sarika Varade, ensuring a strong showing for the host state.
Prasunna Parekh(Gujarat) rallied after dropping the first game to defeat Moonmoon Mukherjee(Maharashtra) in the women’s 50+ singles final and later teamed up with Sonal Joshi to win the doubles event. In the 55+ category, Shilpa Joshi (Maharashtra)dominated both singles and doubles, underlining her supremacy with commanding wins.
The mixed doubles events also featured intense battles, with Sujay Chaturvedi and Shobhana Solanki (IA&AD) winning the 40+ title, while Karnataka’s H.S.Shashank and Sowmya Shimoga clinched the 45+ crown. Maharashtra continued its strong run in the 50+ and 55+ sections, with Manish Rawat partnering Moonmoon Mukherjee, and Anagha Joshi teaming up with Prasad Naik, to emerge winners in their respective categories.
Overall, the championships showcased high-quality competition and enduring skill, as veteran paddlers across the country reaffirmed their class on the national stage.
The Results:
Men 40+Singles: Final: Mohd. Farooqui Zubair (Telg) bt Anal Kashyap (Asm) 10-12, 11-9,6-11, 11-7, 11-6.
Doubles:Santosh Araswilli/Sujay Chaturvedi (IA&AD) bt Sameer Sahni/Sumit Nagpal(Del) 11-5, 11-8, 9-11, 11-5.
Men 45+Singles: Final: R. Rajesh (TN) bt Koushik De Sarkar (WB) 6-11, 10-12,11-7,11-7, 13-11.
Doubles:Kaushik De Sarkar/Soumik De Sarkar (WB) bt Amish Patel/Dharit Naik (Guj) 11-6,11-5, 12-10.
Men 50+Singles: Final: Kiran Salian (Mah) bt Manish Nepali (HP) 11-6, 11-9, 11-4.
Doubles: MukulBoro/Jagat Singh Bisht (RBI) bt Sameer Bhate/Kiran Salian (Mah) 11-7,11-4,11-6.
Men 55+Singles: Final: Harsh Chopra (Del) Ravindra Joshi (Mah) 9-11, 11-5, 11-3, 11-8.
Doubles:Jitendra Taori/Kishore Motwani (MP) bt Neelkanth Potdar/Nitin Toshniwal (Mah)11-7, 11-9, 11-6.
Women 40+Singles: Final: Aishwarya Narasimhan (Kar) bt Mayuri Dixit (Mah) 11-5, 11-8,11-7.
Doubles: SonalAsrani/Bandaru Kiranmai (Telg) bt Divya Amade/Pramila Dewangan (CG) 12-10,11-5, 16-14.
Women 45+Singles: Final: Sadiya Vanjara (Mah) bt Anjana Rao (Kar) 12-10, 12-10, 11-6.
Doubles: ShrutiKanade Joshi/Sarika Varade (Mah) bt Snehal Bhatt/Radhika Dorle (Mah) 11-5,11-Women 50+ Singles: Final: Prasunna Parekh (Guj) bt Moonmoon Mukherjee (Mah)8-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-9.
Doubles: SonalJoshi/Prasunna Parekh (Guj) bt Neeta Vaishnav/Archana Rathore (MP) 11-4, 11-8,11-5.
Women 55+Singles: Final: Shilpa Joshi (Mah) bt Trupti Machwe (Mah) 11-4, 11-8, 11-1.
Doubles: ShilpaJoshi/Anagha Joshi (Mah) bt Sneha Padhye/Trupti Machwe (Mah) 11-3, 11-2, 11-4.
Mixed Doubles40+: Sujay Chaturvedi/Shobhana Solanki (IA&AD) bt Pathik Mehta/Krupa Shah(Guj) 8-11, 11-8, 11-4, 11-5.
Mixed Doubles45+: H.S. Shashank/Sowmya Shimoga (Kar) bt Bhavesh Shah/Shruti Kanade Joshi(Mah) 15-11, 11-9, 11-4.
Mixed Doubles50+: Manish Rawat/Moonmoon Mukherjee (Mah) bt Prasunna Parekh/Mihir Vyas (Guj)11-9, 11-8, 11-9.
Mixed Doubles55+: Anagha Joshi/Prasad Naik (Mah) bt Shagun Sutaria/Neha Patel.
=====