Sathiyan wins men's single title at national championship, Sreeja defends women's gold
In the 84th UTT Inter-State Senior National Table Tennis Championships on Monday, reigning champion Sreeja Akula of RBI defeated Sutirtha Mukherjee of West Bengal 4-2 to win the women's singles title. Meanwhile, G. Sathiyan won his second title by defeating Harmeet Desai in straight games.
Following their triumphs, Sreeja and Sathiyan both received an increase in wealth of Rs. 2.75 lakh. Sreeja struggled in the championship. She always managed to get herself out of a gherkin by doing the unexpected.
Sutirtha absolved her opponent of responsibility by failing to capitalise on her best opportunities in the championship match. Sutirtha was in excellent form and was hitting some incredible cross-court shots with her forehand, but Sreeja never wavered from her aggressive stance or went into a shell.
Sutirtha did win the first game, but she should have won at least two of the following three as well because she had two game points in each of them. Sreeja ultimately defeated the West Bengal player, a previous national champion, with scores of 9-11, 14-12, 11-7, 13-11, 6-11, and 12-10 because to her bravery and quiet play.
On the contrary, Sathiyan was in his element in the championship match, as seen by his frantic match with Harmeet. The former was clearly superior on the day as he stroked his way with forehands that were thunderous. His backhand, too, backed him up without allowing Harmeet to push him.
Sathiyan controlled the show and steadily rose to the top with each victory, with the exception of the opening game, which was too close for his comfort.
Harmeet became upset that he lost motivation and the eagerness to challenge Sathiyan further, allowing him to easily lose the fourth game. In the end, Sathiyan won by scores of 11-9, 11-7, 11-8, and 11-5.
Mohammed Ali and Vansh Singhal of Telangana were defeated by West Bengal's Jeet Chandra and Ankur Bhattacharjee in men's doubles in a match that ended in a straight games victory.
In the women's doubles final, Swastika Ghosh and Shruti Amrute from Maharashtra were defeated by Sreeja Akula and Diya Chitale 3-1 thanks to their strong teamwork.
Ankur Bhattacharjee and Moumita Datta from West Bengal were beaten 3-0 by Manav Thakkar and Archana Kamath in the mixed doubles final. The top-seeded Sathiyan and Manika Batra were defeated by the West Bengal team in the first round, 3-0.