There was so much of pent-up emotions in A. Amalraj that he chose to release the moment he defeated the top seed Sharath Kamal in the men’s final of the LIC-IOC South Zone National-ranking table tennis tournament on Sunday.
He shouted, the words drowning in the claps from those around, jumped and fell on his knees before shaking hands his opponent.
Amalraj’s first title of the season, with a 4-3 triumph was memorable as it happened to be his first South Zone crown in his decorated career.
For Manika Batra, who put it across Sutirtha Mukherjee 4-2 in the women’s final, it was her first title of the season.
Amalraj, India No. 13, came back from losing the first three games tamely. “Winning against Sharath after losing to him in the semifinals of the all-India inter-institutional tournamet was special. That’s why I was so overjoyed,” said Amalraj.
In the first three games, Sharath blew away the 31-year-old with his power-packed backhand and forehand top-spins and was toying with Amalraj’s serve as well. The fourth game saw Sharath commit far too many errors. Amalraj, on the other hand, played within himself, pushing the top seed on the counters and finishing the points.
Manika, varying the directions, was exceptionally good. Her backhand push down-the-line caught the second seed on the wrong foot. On counters too, Manika was effective, with her forehand top-spin shots.
With the scores tied at two-games each, the fifth game was evenly poised. Sutirtha had a game point at 10-9, but Manika, who came through the qualifiers, delivered on her forehand. The sixth turned out to be a breeze.
The results: Men: Final: A. Amalraj (PSPB) bt A. Sharath Kamal (PSPB) 5-11, 8-11, 9-11, 11-2, 11-5, 11-8, 11-4. Semifinals: Sharath bt Manav Thakkar (PSPB) 9-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-4, 15-13, Amalraj bt Sathiyan (PSPB) 11-4, 11-8, 7-11, 11-6, 11-4.
Women: Final: Manika Batra (PSPB) bt Sutirtha Mukherjee (WB) 11-4, 9-11, 11-8, 7-11, 13-11, 11-7. Semifinals: Manika bt Madhurika Patkar (PSPB) 11-9, 9-11, 11-8, 11-5, 10-12, 11-3, Sutirtha bt Archana Kamath (PSPB) 11-9, 9-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-9.
Youth boys: Manav Thakkar (PSPB) bt Lalrin Puia (Miz) 11-6, 11-7, 11-7, 11-9; Youth girls: Moumita Datta (AAI) bt Archana G. Kamath (PSPB) 11-6, 11-8, 11-9, 11-6.