The Hindu : Raman, Pradeepa prove a point

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Aug 12, 2002

Sport

Sport - Table Tennis

Raman, Pradeepa prove a point

By Our Special Correspondent

PSPB's S. Raman (left) and T. Pradeepa of LIC with their trophies after winning the men's and women's singles titles in the inter-institutional table tennis championship in New Delhi on Sunday.

NEW DELHI AUG. 11. Exceeding all expectations, unseeded T. Pradeepa came up with a truly `heavyweight' performance to overwhelm former National champion Mantu Ghosh and captured the women's singles title in the 32nd All India inter-institutional table tennis championship at the NDMC Indoor Stadium here on Sunday.

Pradeepa, after ending the spirited run of Susmita Ray in the semifinal this morning, raced away to a 14-12, 12-10, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9 verdict over the third seeded Mantu. Ranked ninth in the country, Pradeepa also collected Rs. 20,000 for her first major title. Mantu had to remain satisfied with Rs. 10,000.

Like Pradeepa, it was also time for another Chennai-resident, S. Raman, to prove a point. Seeded six, Raman outplayed favourite Soumyadeep Roy 11-7, 10-12, 12-10, 11-8, 14-12 to capture the winner's share of Rs. 40,000. Roy, the reigning National champion, who failed to defend the title won in Kolkata last year, received Rs. 15,000.

Though the underdogs emerged victorious, the singles finals failed to provide the thrills usually associated with the title-clashes.

Indeed, Pradeepa was a revelation. The stocky girl, who joined Life Insurance Corporation after being on scholarship with Airlines, came up with a delightful exhibition. Her anticipation stood out right through the contest and she defence proved very effective everytime Mantu grew aggressive. What really carried the day for Pradeepa was her finishing strokes. They carried too much power and were too accurately placed for Mantu's liking.

Raman, a `veteran' written off many, showed that sometimes experience can prove more than a handful for youthful exuberance. Everytime Roy tried to step up the pace of the rallies, Raman was equal to it. Sometimes, he was even better. His `blocks' were in place when Roy tried to go for the `kill'. An exasperated Roy tried to hit his way out of trouble but succeeded only once _ in the second game.

Though the match went to five games, Raman led comfortably in each of them. Raman was up 5-0 in the first, 8-4 in the second, 9-3 in the third and fourth games. He was also up 9-7 in what proved to be the final game.

Roy found it difficult to break Raman's rhythm. He may have managed to pull off the second game after surviving a game-point but failed to loosen Raman's grip. With his confidence soaring, Raman gained points almost at will. Raman did take time to provide the finishing touches, but he succeeded in ending Roy's resistance much earlier than anticipated.

Earlier in the day, Mouma Das, the dethroned women's singles champion, had the satisfaction of winning two doubles titles. With Poulomi Ghatak, Mouma triumphed over N. R. Indu and M. S. Mythili in the women's doubles final. In the mixed doubles final, Arup Basak gave Mouma company. The duo beat Bhushan Thakur and Susmita Ray.

Thakur had the consolation of winning the men's doubles title. Thakur and A. Sarat Kamal dumped Deepak Thukral and Vineet Chopra in straight games to emerge triumphant.

The results:

Men's singles: Final: S. Raman (Petroleum) bt Soumyadeep Roy (Petroleum) 11-7, 10-12, 12-10, 11-8, 14-12; Semifinals : Roy bt Subhajit Saha (Petroleum) 11-8, 9-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-7; Raman bt A. Sarat Kamal (Rlys) 11-7, 11-7, 11-9, 11-8.

Women's singles: Final: T. Pradeepa (LIC) bt Mantu Ghosh (Petroleum) 14-12, 12-10, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9; Semifinals : Pradeepa bt Susmita Ray (Rlys) 11-5, 5-11, 11-7, 13-11, 11-6; Mantu bt Mamta Prabhu (Rlys) 11-6, 11-5, 11-9, 3-11, 11-9.

Men's doubles: Final: Bhushan Thakur and A. Sarat Kamal (Rlys) bt Deepak Thakur and Vineet Chopra (BSB) 12-10, 11-7, 11-8.

Women's doubles: Final : Mouma Das and Poulomi Ghatak (Petroleum) bt N. R. Indu and M. S. Mythili (Petroleum) 11-7, 11-4, 11-4.

Mixed doubles: Arup Basak and Mouma Das (Petroleum) bt Bhushan Thakur and Susmita Ray (Rlys) 11-8, 9-11, 11-7, 11-9.

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Raman, Pradeepa prove a point