Prishita, Akash win table tennis trophies in Panchkula

Prishita and Akash won the men’s and women’s title, respectively, on the concluding day of the 30th Panchkula District Table Tennis Championship, at Manav Mangal School. Prishita won the women’s final by overpowering Aaliya in straight games 11-8 11-4 11-3. She registered an identical one-sided win over Srishti Gautam 11-8 11-5 11-3 in her semifinal match, while Aaliya posted a comeback 5-11 5-11 12-10 11-7 11-9 win over Aadya Chauhan to move into the final.

In the men’s final, Akash registered a closely contested win over Nikhil Manchanda. Akash lost the opening two games 5-11 9-11, but managed to bounce back strongly with a 11-9 11-8 11-1 verdict. In semifinals, Akash defeated Abhinav Sood 11-9 11-9 11-7 and Manchanda defeated Mayank 11-9 11-4 13-11. Aadya Chauhan, meanwhile, continue to win titles as she won her fourth of the tournament by defeating Aalia 11-8 12-10 11-7 11-7 in the girls’ U-17 category. In semis, Aalia posted a 11-6 7-11 8-11 12-10 11-8 win over Manya, and Aadya Chauhan defeated Aaradhya 11-3 11-2 11-4. Gurnek Singh beat Saksham Sarda 11-6 11-8 10-12 7-11 12-10 in the boys’ U-17 final.

Before setting up the title clash, Sarda defeated Geetesh 11-7 11-6 11-7, and Gurnek

struggled hard to defeat Abhinav 5-11 11-9 8-11 11-9 11-9. In the girls’ U-19 final, Aadya once again raced ahead, as she defeated Manya 11-9 11-8 11-5. In semis, she posted 11-3 11-8 11-9 win over Srishti, and Manya defeated Aaradhya 11-5 11-6 11-6.

Aditya won a stunner against Abhinav Sood to win the boys’ U-19 gold medal. After winning the first game 11-9, Aditya went down 5-11 9-11 in the next consecutive games. However, he recovered on time to register a 11-6 11-6 win over his rival. In semis, Abhinav defeated Dikshant Tiwari 11-6 12-10 11-5 and Aditya posted a 11-3 11-6 11-4 win over Geetesh. In the men’s veteran (40 years), Ashwani Kumar Verma recorded a 11- 5 11-2 13-15 11-5 win over Amit Goyal. Kumar defeated Ankur Arora 11-3 8-11 11-9 11-5 and Goyal ousted Vatsal Jain 11-9 11-7 8-11 11-4 in semis.