Petroleum Sports Promotion Board, led by Manav Thakkar, defeated a spirited West Bengal 3-1 to retain the youth boys title in the National table tennis tournament in Sonepat.
But West Bengal youth girls beat Telangana 3-0 to lift the team trophy after their junior girls failed to defend the crown. PSPB started nervously with Ronit Bhanja providing the lead for West Bengal as he beat Siddesh Pande 3-1.
Manav struggled against a pepped up Abhimanyu Mitra as the left-hander won the opening game of the second singles. But Manav, who levelled with a 12-10 win in the next, seized back the initiative back. Jeet Chandra, who was in a good vein of form, accounted for Akash Pal, also a 3-1 verdict.
Telangana, after putting up a brave front and upsetting defending champions PSPB in the semi-finals, could not find the rhythm and energy to beat a determined West Bengal in the final.
Lacking sting in their attack and steam to fight back, they threw in the towel almost instantly, except for Sreeja who showed gumption to take on Kaushani Nath in the second singles. But, the least the Telangana girl could do was to take two games while Varuni managed one against Surbhi Patwari.
Results:
Youth Boys: Final: PSPB bt West Bengal 3-1 (Siddesh Pande lost to Ronit Bhanja 8-11, 5-11, 11-8, 8-11, Manav Thakkar bt Abhimanyu Mitra 6-11, 12-10, 11-7, 11-4, Jeet Chandra bt Akash Pal 7-11, 11-6, 11-3, 12-10, Manav Thakkar bt Ronit Bhanja 11-7, 11-8, 11-5)
Youth Girls: Final: West Bengal bt Telagnana 3-0 (Surbhi Patwari bt Varuni Jaiswal 12-10, 3-11, 12-10, 11-4, Kaushani Nath bt Sreeja Akula 9-11, 12-10, 11-7, 12-14, 11-6, Poymantee Baisya bt Naina 11-7, 11-7, 11-6