The Petroleum Sports Control Board (PSPB) today extended their reign over the two team trophies, beating the Railways men and the Airports Authority of India women by an identical 3-0 margin in the Inter-Institutional Table Tennis Championships here.
The verdicts, along the expected lines, must have given real headaches to some of the teams in fray, for they may be sick and tired of going over the exercise of competing in the championships year after year, all in futility, and not seeing the silverwares coming their way even once.
For most teams, the team trophies have remained a pipedream and yet they religiously participate in the event.
The Soumyajit Ghosh-Sanil Shetty-Harmeet Desai blend did not need a second invitation to rout the Railway Sports Promotion Board as it went about its task clinically, demolishing one opponent after another to complete the job.
Ghosh, unleashing a combination attack on both flanks, took 18 minutes flat to outwit Anirban Nandi, the most experienced Railways' player, 11-6, 11-8, 11-9. Shetty, the national champion, conceded his second, hard-fought game to Souvik Kar, but came to grips soon after with his blistering forehand to outwit Souvik. And Desai, consumed very little time at the table to run over Noel Pinto for the 11-8, 11-3, 11-9 verdict.
So, it was not surprising that their women also played exactly the way a top-notch outfit would do. Barring the first game in which AAI's Nikhat Bhanu began briskly and taking it 11-3, it was PSPB's Madhurika Patkar all the way, stopping Bhanu on her tracks.
Ankita Das, too, lost a game to the promising Kritwikka Sinha Roy but the former proved to be way ahead with bagful of tricks-she played to her strength to win 11-8, 9-11, 12-10, 11-7.
Former national champion Poulomi Ghatak, despite being rusty and losing her first extended game at 12-14, managed to put it across Amrutha Pushpak.
Results (team finals): Men: Petroleum Sports Promotion Board bt Railway Sports Promotion Board 3-0 (Soumyajit Ghosh bt Anirban Nandi 11-6, 11-8, 119, Sanil Shetty bt Souvik Kar 11-4, 12-14, 11-8, 11-7, Harmeet Desai bt Noel Pinto 11-8, 11-3, 119).
Women: Petroleum Sports Promotion Board bt Airports Authority of India 3-0 (Madhurika Patkar bt Nikhat Bhanu 3-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-8, Ankita Das bt Kritwikka Sinha Roy 11-8, 9-11, 12-10, 11-7, Poulomi Ghatak bt Amrutha Pushpak 12-14, 11-3, 13-11, 11-8.
