Chandra stuns Thakkar to win U-21 TT title

Muscat, March 14

Indian paddler Jeet Chandra stunned world No. 2 Manav Thakkar in straight sets to clinch the U-21 men’s singles title at the Oman Open.

The world No. 18 Chandra outclassed compatriot Thakkar 11-6 11-7 13-11 in an all-Indian final that lasted just 24 minutes. After losing the first two sets, Thakkar tried to make a comeback, but a determined Chandra wrapped up the final set and match to clinch the gold. The U-21 men’s singles competition saw the dominance of the Indian paddlers such as Thakkar, Chandra, Manush Shah and Suravajjula Snehit who made their way into the last-4 stage to make it an all-Indian affair in the semis.

Earlier, Achanta Sharath Kamal recovered well from a setback to register a 5-11 11-5 11-3 11-5 11-7 win over Belarusian Aliaksandr Khanin in the senior men’s singles pre-quarterfinals. Harmeet Desai also made his way into the quarterfinals with a hard-fought 7-11 11-13 11-9 11-6 8-11 11-5 11-8 win against Egypt’s Omar Assar in a thrilling encounter that lasted one hour and four minutes.

Three Indian pairs secured their entry in the doubles semifinals. Sharath and Desai thrashed Oman’s Muhannad Al Balushi and Asad Alraisi 11-4 11-3 11-7 while Manush Shah and Thakkar beat Khanin and Pavel Platonov of Belarus 12-10 8-11 11-8 11-9 in the last-8 encounter. — PTI