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Panvel (Maharashtra): Veteran Subramanian Raman clinched the men?s singles title for the fourth time while Poulami Ghatak claimed the women?s singles crown for the second consecutive time in the 66th senior national table tennis meet which concluded here on Monday.
In a well-contested battle fbetween Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) employees, eighth seed Raman used his lethal forehand loop drives and fine positional play to outsmart third seed Arup Basak 4-2 to lift the Maharaja Pithapram Cup and the winner?s purse of Rs 1.4 lakh.
Left hander Raman, who knocked out top-seeded defending champion Achanta Sharath Kamal (PSPB) and fifth seed Sourav Charaborty in the quarter final and semi-final, won the 40-minute clash against 32-year-old former champion Basak 9-11, 11-1, 11-9, 11-7, 7-11, 11-8 in the Reliance Industries-sponsored event held at its township in Lodhivali.
The victory helped Raman regain the crown, which he last won in 2002 in Pune. Raman, who had beaten Kamal in that title-clash, had earlier won the men?s singles titles in 1992 and 1999. He had lost five other finals since making his mark at the national level in the late 1980s.
Earlier, second seed Mouma Das staged a grand rally against her PSPB rival and top seed Poulami, the defending champion, from 0-3 down to draw level at 3-all before losing the deciding game narrowly and the emotion-charged match 3-4.
Poulami, who could not control her emotions after her win for the Travancore Cup and top prize of Rs 90,000, clinched the 50-minute battle against former title winner Mouma 11-4, 11-7, 11-6, 8-11, 7-11, 3-11, 12-10.
This is the 24-year-old Poulami?s fourth title and her third one in the last four years. Basak and Mouma, who could not control her tears after losing to Poulami, received Rs 70,000 and 45,000, respectively, for finishing runners-up.
In the morning semi-finals, Basak ousted second-seeded two-time champion Soumyadeep Roy 4-3, Poulami got rid of former champion and petroleum teammate N.R. Indu 4-1 and Mouma dismissed third seeded PSPB mate and rival Nandita Saha 4-0. (PTI)
