Telangana men win a bronze medal in TT national championships
HYDERABAD: Repeating its historic achievement of 2020, Telangana men’s Table Tennis team won a bronze medal in the 84th UTT Inter-State National Table Tennis Championships underway at the Gymnasium Hall of Jammu University in Jammu.
The Telangana team (S Fidel R Snehit, Mohammed Ali, Vansh Singhal, Dr Chandrachud, Kesavan Kannan) had stunned Haryana 3-0 in the quarterfinals but lost to the Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) 2-3 in the semi-finals to contend again with a bronze. India No-10 Snehit won his two singles against the better ranked Anirbhan Ghosh (India No-5) and Ronit Bhanja (India No-13) to equalise the team score 2-2 but Mohammed Ali had to succumb to intense pressure to drop the crucial rubber against Anirbhan Ghosh 0-3.
It may be recalled that the Telangana men’s team had ended a 45-year medal drought by winning a bronze at the UTT 81st Senior National & Inter-State Table Tennis Championships held at Saroornagar Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad on January 30, 2020. The hosts lost 0-3 to defending champions Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) in the semi-finals after beating Tamil Nadu 3-1in quarterfinals. Another interesting aspect of this victory is, the member of the bronze winning team, Aman Balgu, accompanied the Telangana team to Jammu as their coach. The Telangana TT Association Secretary Nagender Reddy and Manager Somnath Ghosh appreciated the team for yet another historic feat.
Scores: RSPB bt Telangana 3-2 in semi-finals
Fist Singles: Ronit Bhanja bt Mohammed Ali 3-1 (11-5, 6-11, 11-4, 11-7);
Second Singles: Anirban Ghosh lost to SFR Snehit 9-11, 5-11, 12-10, 11-7, 5-11 (2-3);
Third Singles: Akash pal bt Vansh Singhal 12-10, 11-8, 11-5 (3-0);
First Reverse Singles: Ronit Bhanja lost to SFR Snehit 9-11, 3-11, 8-11 (0-3);
Second Reverse Singles: Anirban Ghosh bt Mohammed Ali 11-5, 11-9, 11-9 (3-0).
