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ANAND: Shlok Bajaj stayed on course for an impressive third final of the tournament as he reached the Junior Boys’ (U-17) semi-finals at the Rotomag 3rd Gujarat State Ranking Table Tennis Tournament 2021, organized by the Anand District Table Tennis Association under the aegis of Gujarat State Table Tennis Association from October 14 to 17.
Shlok appeared to have regained from the twin heartbreaks of losing the Men’s as well as Junior Boys’ (U-19) finals on the second day of the tournament, title sponsored by Rotomag Motors Private Limited and co-sponsored by Vidya Wires, Charotar Gas Sahkari Mandali Limited and Atlanta Electricals Limited, yesterday as the second-ranked under-17 player in the state beat another promising youngster Himansh Dahiya of Ahmedabad 11-3, 12-10, 11-8, 12-10 to reach the semis.
In other quarter-final matches, Surat’s Shlok Malpani, who is ranked fourth in the state, edged out Bhavnagar’s Mann Joshi 11-8, 12-10, 11-9, 9-11, 11-8 while third-ranked Arman Shaikh of Aravalli defeated teammate Harshvardhan Patel 11-2, 11-9, 11-4, 11-9.
State’s top-ranked under-17 player Burhanuddin Malpani of Surat stayed on course to defend his turf with an 11-6, 11-5, 11-7, 11-6 win over Aravalli’s Janmejay Patel.
But the match of the day at the Yugpurush Vivekanand Sports Complex belonged to Ahmedabad’s young Hiya Singh, the second-seeded player in the Cadet Girls’ (U-13) category, who came from being two-game down to shock fifth seed Khushi Jadav of Bhavnagar 10-12, 6-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-8 in an exciting Junior Girls’ (U-17) pre-quarter-final match.
However, Hiya could not sustain the momentum as she suffered a 4-11, 7-11, 9-11, 5-11 loss against Surat’s Arnee Parmar, the fourth-ranked player in the state in the category.
Ahmedabad’s Nidhi Prajapati, the state’s top-ranked U-17 player, too had a battle in hand as she came from being 0-2 down to beat Bhavnagar’s Riya Jayswal 9-11, 5-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-6, 11-8 to reach the semis.
Pratha Pawar stayed on course for another State Ranking title in the category as the second-ranked player from Ahmedabad beat Baroda’s Sheli Patel 11-7, 11-8, 7-11, 11-7, 11-7 in the quarters.
Surat’s Mili Tanna completed the semi-final lineup with an 11-9, 7-11, 11-3, 7-11, 11-8, 11-7 win over Bhavnagar’s Rutva Kothari.
KEY RESULTS
Junior Boys’ (U-17)
QF: Shlok Bajaj (SRT) def Himansh Dahiya (AHD) 11-3, 12-10, 11-8, 12-10
Shlok Malpani (SRT) def Mann Joshi (BVN) 11-8, 12-10, 11-9, 9-11, 11-8
Burhanuddin Malpani (SRT) def Janmejay Patel (ARV) 11-6, 11-5, 11-7, 11-6
Arman Shaikh (ARV) def Harshvardhan Patel (ARV) 11-2, 11-9, 11-4, 11-9
Junior Girls’ (U-17)
QF: Pratha Pawar (AHD) def Sheli Patel (BRD) 11-7, 11-8, 7-11, 11-7, 11-7
Arnee Parmar (SRT) def Hiya Singh (AHD) 11-4, 11-7, 11-9, 11-5
Mili Tanna (SRT) def Rutva Kothari (BVN) 11-9, 7-11, 11-3, 7-11, 11-8, 11-7
Nidhi Prajapati (AHD) def Riya Jayswal (BVN) 9-11, 5-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-6, 11-8
PQF: Hiya Singh (AHD) def Khushi Jadav (BVN) 10-12, 6-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-8
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