PSPB players beat PSPB in women’s team final

CHENNAI: The 11Sports 80th National Table Tennis Championship at the Nehru Stadium in Cuttack threw up a major surprise late on Sunday. Reigning women’s champions Petroleum Sports Promotion Board were beaten by Bengal in the final for the first time. Bengal regained the crown after last winning it in Manesar in 2016.

The architects of the victory were two PSPB paddlers — Mousumi Paul and Krittwika Sinha Roy. PSPB’s selection criteria entail the top five among both men and women make the team. Both Mousumi and Krittwika were ranked lower after their nationals and zonal performances in the last 12 months. The duo had to inform their respective offices in order to receive a No Objection Certificate (NOC) so that they could be selected for Bengal.

Bolstered by the duo’s addition, Bengal beat the likes of Tamil Nadu and Airports Authority of India en route the final. As coach Sourav Chakraborty put it, the team was confident unlike in previous years. “We had all bases covered this time around. The girls were really up for the fight. We just made sure that they enjoyed themselves and it was amazing to beat such a strong team in the final.”

In the team meeting prior to the summit clash, the Bengal contingent planned their order in such a way that Mousumi and Krittwika played against India’s highest ranked female paddler Manika Batra. “The plan was that both of us know how to deal with her use of long pimpled rubber on the backhand side. It feels great that we managed to beat such a strong team for the first time,” Mousumi said.A Sharath Kamal and Manika will take on the top-seeded pair of Manav Thakkar and Archana Kamath in the mixed doubles final on Tuesday.