Sharath, Prapti clinch national ranking (North Zone) TT titles

KOLKATA: Achanta Sharath Kamal showed age is just a number as he prevailed over

Soumyajit Ghosh

4-3 in a thrilling final to win the national ranking (North Zone) title at the Tau Devi Lal Multipurpose Indoor Stadium at Panchkula on Thursday.


The women’s title match, featuring two first-time finalists, saw

Prapti Sen

of Bengal rallied to beat AAI’s

Swastika Ghosh

.

The 39-year-old top-seed Sharath made a roaring start taking a handsome 3-1 lead, but Ghosh, out of action for long fighting personal problems, staged a good recovery to level the score 3-3.

Ghosh showed glimpses of his old self as he won the sixth set after being 0-5 down. But Sharath dominated his rival in the final set after being 0-2 down to take a 8-2 lead and finish off things in style to triumph 6-11, 11-5, 11-2, 11-7, 6-11, 9-11, 11-6.

Both Sharath and Ghosh overcame tough oppositions in Harmeet Desai and Manav Thakkar respectively in the semifinals. Sharath made a great comeback from 1-3 down to win 4-3. The decider was a thriller with both players leveled at 9-9, but PSPB’s Sharath managed to pull it through to win 11-8, 8-11, 4-11, 7-11, 11-4, 11-9, 12-10.

In the other semifinal clash, Ghosh went 3-1 up, but Manav managed to level scores at 3-3. But former national champion Ghosh held his nerves to win the decider and match 4-3 (14-16, 11-5, 11-6, 13-11, 6-11, 9-11, 14-12).

In a topsy-turvy women’s final, Sen displayed great grit to overcome unseeded Ghosh 4-3 (4-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-9, 15-13). The 18-year-old Ghosh, who won the gold in WTT Youth Contender in Tunis a month ago, fought till the end in the deciding set before surrendering 13-15.

Earlier second and third seeds, Sutirtha Mukherjee and Ayhika Mukherjee made their exits in the Round of 32.

Reigning national champions G Sathiyan and Manika Batra opted out of this zonal event.

Results:Men singles final: Sharath Kamal (PSPB) bt Soumyajit Ghosh (Har) 6-11, 11-5, 11-2, 11-7, 6-11, 9-11, 11-6. Semifinals: Sharath Kamal bt Harmeet Desai 11-8, 8-11, 4-11, 7-11, 11-4, 11-9, 12-10; Soumyajit Ghosh bt Manav Thakkar 14-16, 11-5, 11-6, 13-11, 6-11, 9-11, 14-12.Women singles final: Prapti Sen (Beng-A) bt Swastika Ghosh (AAI) 4-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-9, 15-13. Semifinals: Prapti Sen bt Takeme Sarkar 15-13, 6-11, 11-9, 11-9, 12-10; Swastika Ghosh bt Anusha Kutumbale 11-9, 12-10, 11-7, 11-6.