Howrah, Oct 24 (IANS) Delhis Yashansh Malik defeated Jeet Chandra of Haryana 4-2 to claim the Youth Boys singles trophy while the Youth Girls crown went the way of Prapti Sen of West Bengal, who beat Moumita Datta of Railways 4-1, in the UTT National Ranking (East Zone) Table Tennis Championships at the Howrah Indoor Stadium here on Thursday.
It was a well-earned title for the Delhi paddler as he won a marathon 22-20 fourth game to level the score.
But then the gutsy Yashansh really fought well in the fourth after several deuces and squandering nearly half a dozen game points to gain his grip back in the final. The 22-20 victory provided him the spark and necessary confidence to take the next two games, thus shutting out whatever chances that Jeet had prior to it.
Despite the dice rolling in favour of the Delhi paddler and Yashansh gaining his composure, the Haryana boy must be credited for keeping himself going and facing all possible troubles with relentless attack. No doubt, this added a bit of pressure on the Delhi boy but he kept his cool in crucial moments to romp home the winner.
In the Youth Girls final, a well-rested Prapti disposed off her rival from the Railways as Moumita, despite winning the opening game, failed to stop the rampaging West Bengal girl. Probably, the back-to-back quarterfinal and semi-final mixed doubles matches that Moumita had to play before her final against Prapti sapped her energy and that was telling in her game plan in the title-round.
–IANS
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