Ghosh, Manika labour for TT titles

National champion Soumyajit Ghosh stamped his authority to beat his PSPB colleague Harmeet Desai 4-2 to win the men's singles final in the 45th All India Institutional Table Tennis Championships at the Thyagraj Stadium here on Sunday.

The women's crown went to Delhi's Manika Batra who beat Ankita Das 4-1. The two winners collected prize purses of Rs.75,000 and Rs.58,000, respectively.

Ghosh had to overcome a stubborn Desai. Ghosh, who lost the final to G. Sathiyan last year at the same venue, managed to put it across Desai, who led 1-0. But once Ghosh made it 2-1, it seemed difficult for Desai. Yet, the Gujarat lad came back in the fourth game, giving a glimpse of returning to his semifinal form.

However, Ghosh had other ideas and in the sixth game, after saving six match points, won on the seventh to sew up the title. This is Ghosh's third institutional title. He won his first at Kolkata in 2011 and the second at Dharwad in 2013.

It was Manika's second singles title, coming after three years. She had beaten Poulami Ghatak in the 2012 championships at Burnpur, West Bengal. Manika's win in the fourth game -- she was down 0-5 -- turned the match upside down. Ankita, down and out at 1-3, tried hard to come back in the fifth but it was too late in the day.

In men's doubles, top seeded pair of Ghosh and Desai lost 2-3 to Abhishek Yadav and Sudhanshu Grover. The younger PSPB pair was 1-2 down but made a good comeback to win the last two crucial games, the last one being an extended game.

But RBI's Krittwika Sinha Roy and Shweta Party, in their maiden final, outplayed the RSPB pairs of Anindita Chakraborty and Pallabi Kundu 3-2 to claim their title. Railways veteran Anindita, playing from her experience, did well to combine with her partner Pallabi and levelled the score only to surrender in the decider.

The mixed doubles crown went the way of PSPB's Sanil Shetty and Manika, who beat teammates Jubin Kumar and Neha Aggarwal 3-0.

All doubles winners received Rs.10,000 each while the runners-up pairs got Rs.5,000 each.

Final results:

Men's singles: Soumyajit Ghosh (PSPB) bt Harmeet Desai (PSPB) 4-2 (8-11, 11-5, 13-11, 9-11, 11-6, 18-16).

Women singles: Manika Batra (PSPB) bt Ankita Das (PSPB) 4-1 (11-7, 5-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-7).

Men's doubles: Abhishek Yadav/Sudhanshu Grover (PSPB) bt Soumyajit Ghosh/Harmeet Desai 3-2 (5-11, 11-9, 12-14, 11-8, 15-13).

Women's doubles: Krittwika Sinha Roy/Shweta Parte (RBI) bt Anindita Chakraborty/Pallabi Kundu (RSPB) 3-2 (11-6, 6-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-6).

Mixed doubles: Sanil Shetty/Manika Batra (PSPB) bt Jubin Kumar/Neha Aggarwal (PSPB) 3-0 (11-4, 11-9, 11-8).