Fifth-seeded Siddhesh Pande of Thane district was in his elements and dished out some brilliant performances and went on to sideline fourth-seed Chinmay Somiya of The Suburban Table Tennis Association in six games, cruising to a 12-10, 11-5, 9-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-6 victory in the men’s singles final of the Dr Ramesh Prabhoo Memorial 82nd Maharashtra State Table Tennis Championship.
The tourney was organized by The Suburban District Table Tennis Association (TSTTA) and played at the Prabodhankar Thackeray Krida Sankul, Vile Parle, Mumbai on Thursday evening.
The Thane paddler showed remarkable fighting qualities to win the first game. Trailing 4-10 he bounced back by winning the next seven games in a row to win the opening game. He went on to win the second to take a 2-0 lead. The Mumbai paddler Chinmay not prepared to give up won the next two games to draw level before Siddhesh once dictated terms and quickly snatched the next two games to wrap up the match and emerge champion.
Earlier, the Thane paddler Siddhesh scored a sensational win against top seed Sanil Shetty of TSTTA in the semi-final. In a pulsating battle for supremacy Siddesh, who has represented Indian in the Youth and Junior events, fought well against the senior Indian star Sanil to record a deserving 11-8, 8-11, 15-13, 12-10, 10-12, 4-11, 11-4 victory and advance to the title round.
The second semi-final witnessed some long rallies before Chinmay managed to get the better of his teammate Shivam Das by pulling through in six games at 7-11, 13-11, 11-7, 14-16, 14-12, 11-3.
RESULTS
Men’s singles (quarter-finals): Sanil Shetty (TSTTA) bt Zubin Tarapurwalla (THN) 11-5, 11-7, 11-6, 10-12, 11-7; Siddhesh Pande (THN) bt Deepit Patil (THN) 11-5, 11-6, 8-11, 11-8, 11-6; Chinmay Somiya (TSTTA) bt Mandar Hardikar (TSTTA) 11-7, 11-4, 7-11, 11-3, 9-11, 15-13; Shivam Das (TSTTA) bt Ravindra Kotiyan (TSTTA) 6-11, 13-11, 11-9, 4-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-7.
Semi-finals: Siddhesh Pande (THN) bt Sanil Shetty (TSTTA) 11-8, 8-11, 15-13, 12-10, 10-12, 4-11, 11-4; Chinmay Somiya (TSTTA) bt Shivam Das (TSTTA) 7-11, 13-11, 11-7, 14-16, 14-12, 11-3.
Final: Siddhesh Pande (THN) bt Chinmay Somiya (TSTTA) 12-10, 11-5, 9-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-6.