Jeho, Dia win sub-junior table tennis titles

Siliguri, Dec 6: H. Jeho of PSPBA beat fellow academy player Chinmaya Somaiya 4-1 to list his maiden sub-junior boys' crown, while Maharahtra's Dia Chitale downed Delhi's Vanshika Bhargava 4-3 for the sub-junior girls title in the 78th Cadet and Sub-Junior Table Tennis Nationals here on Tuesday.

The fourth seeded Jeho, who lost in the quarter-finals in the previous edition in Kolkata, ensured himself not just the trophy but also the prize money in what turned out to be a lopsided final of the nationals which concluded at the SMC Stadium.

After running into a 3-0 lead, Jeho had complete control over the match despite losing the fourth on extended points.

After having a mixed bag in zonal events, Jeho and second seed Somaiya stamped their authority with conviction in the nationals. 

The PSPB Academy boys accounted for Delhi's top-seed Payas Jain and third-seed Yashansh Malik, respectively.

In the sub-junior girls final, Dia led 3-1 until Vanshika unleashed her attack on her rival to level the score 3-3. 

In the decider, Vanshika seemed to have sewn it up with a 4-1 and then 7-5 led but the fighting Dia seized the opportunity after she made it 7-7. 

From there, it was Dia all the way as she claimed the next four points, including one which hit the net cord, for the title in cool fashion.

Haryana's Suhana Saini was fighting more often with her than the familiar rival in Tamil Nadu's Kavyashree Baskar.

The Haryana girl had the last laugh with a 4-2 verdict in the all-important nationals.

She surged ahead with a 2-0 lead only to lose the initiative as Kavyashree fought back well to level the score. However, Suhana was not going to let the Tamil Nadu rival go up yet again and, despite losing the fourth extended game with two games point on, clinched the fifth game on second game point.

But the biggest upset of the season and, more importantly, in the nationals was the loss suffered by the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds from Tamil Nadua — Preyesh Suresh Raj and Tharun Shanmugam.