Date:09/08/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/08/09/stories/2004080905451600.htm

Sport - Badminton

Maiden senior title for Sreeraj

KOCHI, AUG. 8. Thiruvananthapuram's unseeded S. Sreeraj jolted city-mate and State No. 1 C.J. Balaji 4-3 and won the men's singles title at the fourth RSC Open all-Kerala ranking table tennis tournament at the Rajiv Gandhi indoor stadium here on Sunday evening.

It was the first senior title for Sreeraj who had stayed away from the State circuit last season to concentrate on his 12th standard exams.

The Thiruvananthapuram circuit is a very competitive one and the cool youngster, coached by Sathish, came up with some stunning backhand jabs which won him the bulk of the points against Balaji, the former Kerala champion.

In contrast, Lakshmi Vijayan bagged the women's title with a 4-0 verdict over the second-seeded M.S. Bindu.

However, the game scores were close. Lakshmi had upset the State champion Meenu Raj in the semifinals.

Thiruvananthapuram was a big winner today, winning the junior boys and girls' titles through Tariq and Anju K. Thomas.

The City Police Commissioner and Regional Sports Centre president Dinendra Kashyap was the chief guest and his wife Pooja Kashyap gave away the prizes.

The results:

Men: final: S. Sreeraj (Tvm) bt C.J. Balaji (Tvm) 11-4, 8-11, 14-16, 11-6, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8. Semifinals: Sreeraj bt Arun Raj (CPT) 5-11, 11-9, 11-8, 13-11, 17-15, 11-9, 11-8, 10-12, 11-5, 11-5.

Boys: Junior: final: Tariq (Tvm) bt Shyam Narayan (AYTTA) 11-8, 11-4, 5-11, 11-7, 11-4. Semifinals: Tariq bt Angelo Purathur (Tsr) 11-7, 11-5, 11-8; Shyam Narayan bt M.D. Sooraj (Wyd) 11-9, 11-9, 11-6.

Sub-junior: final: Angelo Purathur (Tsr) bt Naveen Kurian (Wyd) 11-6, 6-11, 11-8, 11-5.

Cadet: final: S. Sunder (Alp) bt S. Arjun (Tvm) 11-4, 8-11, 12-10.

Veteran men's final: M.K. Trivedi (Ekm) bt P.K. Venkitaraman (Central Bank) 11-9, 11-7, 13-11.

Women: final: Lakshmi Vijayan (Tvm) bt M.S. Bindu (Tvm) 11-7, 13-11, 14-12, 11-9. Semifinals: Lakshmi Vijayan bt Meenu Raj (Tvm) 11-9, 13-11, 13-11, 4-11, 15-13; Bindu bt Aparna D. Nair (Tvm) 11-6, 11-3, 7-11, 11-4, 7-11, 13-11.

Girls: Junior: final: Anju K. Thomas (Tvm) bt Anjana Gopal (Tvm) 12-14, 7-11, 8-11, 11-6, 11-9, 14-12, 11-9. Semifinals: Anju bt Chris Winnie James (HRC) 11-13, 11-8, 11-6, 11-7; Anjana Gopal bt Jayaprabha (Kzd) 11-4, 11-9, 11-6.

Sub-junior: final: Chris Winny James (HRC) bt Lakshmi Prabha (Kzd) 11-8, 13-11, 12-10. - Our Principal Correspondent