Basak and Indu are the winners

By Our Sports Reporter

RAIPUR, SEPT. 12. After serving a six-month ban Arup Basak may have lost his chirpy demeanour, but not his touch. And that was evident here on Wednesday when he eased past young Ranabir Das in mere 26 minutes to win the Central Zone table tennis tournament at the Sapre School Hall.

Ironically, after winning the same tournament in Bhopal last year Basak had run into trouble with the Table Tennis Federation of India which imposed the ban on him following his tiff with the North Korean coach. But Basak brushed aside that unpleasant phase and staged a fine comeback to defend his title with a 11-6, 11-1, 11-9, 11-9 verdict.

``It (suspension) was tough. But I continued to practice and did not lose my composure,'' said Basak, who hardly displayed any emotion throughout the event.

Unlike Basak's easy win, the women's winner, N.R. Indu of PSCB, had to overcome a tough challenge from Mantu Ghosh. Indu won 6- 11, 11-1, 4-11, 6-11, 11-4, 11-4, 11-5.

Such was the quality of Basak's play that Ranabir was left with no opportunity to put up a decent show. Basak's serve variations and his command over the rallies did not allow his 19- year old opponent to settle at any stage. Even Ranabir's powerful drives were easily negated by Basak, who once again showed his fine form with crisp backhand executions.

Reaching his first final after upsetting National squad players Shivaji Dutta and Soumyadeep Roy in the previous rounds, Ranabir did try to put up some resistance, but it was in vain.

Basak, who only conceded seven points in the first two games, led 6-2 and 8-5 in the third, but Ranabir raised hopes with three winners. Basak, however, stretched his lead to 3-0 with two service winners. Up 10-7 in the following game, Basak converted his third match point when Ranabir's backhand drive went out.

If the women's final provided an interesting fare, it was mainly because of Indu's valiant comeback marked by a flurry of winners. Up against an opponent who surprised her with a solid defence, Indu eventually won with the aid of her trademark top spin drives.

Unsettled by Mantu's backhand flicks and heavy side spin serves, Indu was in spot of bother at 1-3. But she continued with her strategy to attack and gained momentum with her third ball attack. Finally, it became tough for Mantu to handle Indu's pace.

Indu, who took the second game with her three forehand drives, utilised the same stroke in the last three games to collect her first title of the season.

For Mantu who seldom uses top spin, it was her serve and backhand which allowed her to break away in the third and fourth games for a strong advantage. Even as Indu persisted with her drives, Mantu gained points with blocks winners from both the flanks. But Mantu's limitations came to the fore when Indu increased the pace to wriggle out of the tough situation.

In the morning session, Ranabir brushed aside fourth seeded Shivaji Dutta's challenge in seven games in the semifinals. Involved in an engrossing duel, both the players were frustrated by the 90-minute power failure that came when Ranabir led 3-2.

Shivaji who missed a `sitter' at 6-6 followed by two service errors in the fifth game to concede the crucial lead, raised his chances by making it 3-3. But Ranabir took an early lead in the decider and conceded only two points to pull it off.

Aparna, Arunava bag titles

In the junior category, M. Aparna of Medimix Chandra's Academy defeated top seed Sushmita Roy 13-11 in the seventh game to win the girls title.

The Chennai-based Aparna was two points away from losing the final in the sixth game at 7-9. But she fought her way back with her top spins to lead 10-7 in the decider.

Sushmita staved off four match points but finally went down when Aparna blocked her opponents' flat drive and forced an error. It was a memorable win for Aparna as she had knocked out second seeded Mousomi Pal and sixth seeded Anushree Saha, both from Bengal, in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively.

In the junior boys final, Arunava Ganguly, a talented youngster with fluent swings worked on by Chinese Yin Wei, overcame Bengal's Soumyajit Sarkar in straight games. Petroleum Sports Control Board Academy's Arunava claimed his second successive title after the East Zone.

For Soumyajit Sarkar, it was a disappointing day as he lost the sub-junior boys final as well. He led 3-2 before going down 11-4, 8-11, 8-11, 11-1, 11-5, 11-13, 9-11 to 12-year-old Aniket Koparkar from Pune.

Sukanya Bose edged past an in-form Pallavi Kundu, 3-2, in the sub-junior girls final. Pallavi, who won the sub-junior girls title in Taiyun recently, lost from a commanding 3-1 position on this day.

lThe results: men (final): Arup Basak (PSCB) bt Ranabir Das (Rly) 11-6, 11-1, 11-9, 11-9; Semifinals: Ranabir bt Shivaji Dutta (PSCB) 4-11, 11-9, 11-3, 8-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-2; Arup Basak (PSCB) bt Sourav Chakraborty (Ben) 11-8, 6-11, 11-2, 11-9, 11-7.

Women (final): N.R. Indu (PSCB) bt Mantu Ghosh (PSCB) 6-11, 11-6, 4-11, 5-11, 11-4, 11-4, 11-5; Semifinals: Indu bt Mouma Das (PSCB) 13-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-9; Mantu bt Poulomi Ghatak 11-9, 11- 8, 7-11, 6-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-8.

Junior boys (final): Arunava Ganguly (PSCBA) bt Soumyajit Sarkar (Ben) 11-5, 11-9, 11-6, 11-7.

Junior girls (final): M. Aparna (TN) bt Sushmita Roy (Ben) 11-8, 8-11, 7-11, 11-3, 7-11, 11-9, 13- 11.

Sub-junior boys (final): Aniket Koparkar (Mah) bt Soumyajit Sarkar (Ben) 4-11, 11-8, 11-8, 1-11, 5-11, 13- 11, 11-9.

Sub-junior girls (final): Sukanya Bose (Ben) bt Pallavi Kundu (Ben) 11-5, 7-11, 6-11, 7-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-9.

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