Goemkarponnd desk
PANAJI: Aaron Farias and Leoma Fernandes won double crowns each, while Dheeraj Rai and Galya Fernandes clinched Men’s and Women’s singles titles, at the Bambolim Beach Resort State TT championship, at Peddem. Aaron continued his fine run of form to win Boys’ singles titles in the Under 15 and Under 17 age groups. In Under 15, Aaron eased to a comfortable 3-0 win over Khushal Naik, winning 11-2, 11-7, and 11-9. The U17 singles were, however, a contrasting match where Aaron was stretched the distance by a fighting Akshan Lawande. Poised at two sets a piece, the two rising talents went neck and neck before Aaron prevailed to win the final set at 19 -17. He won 3-2 (11-2, 6-11, 12-10, 9-11, 19-17) to secure his second title of the day.
The concluding TT ranking championship of the season, organised by the Goa Table Tennis Association in collaboration with the Sports Authority of Goa (SAG) and the North Goa Table Tennis Development Council and powered by Bambolim Beach Resort, witnessed several exciting moments and high-octane contests on Sunday.
Twin sisters Leoma and Galya showed their mettle in the Girl’s section, with Leoma winning the Girls Under 15 and Under 19 titles and Galya the Women’s title.
In the U15 Girls finals, Leoma defeated Galya 3-1 (13-11, 11-13, 11-4, 11-8) while she won the U19 Singles with an equally confident 3-1 (13-11, 12-10, 7-11, 11-5) win over Anushri Naik. Galya added one more title to the kitty with a facile 3-0 (11-5, 11-8, 11-7) win over Anushri Naik and almost made it four for the family. But it was not to be as Samaira Soares secured an exciting 3-2 (3-11, 7-11, 13-11, 11-8, 11-8) win in Girls U17 finals in an edge-of-the-seat thriller.
In the Boys U19 finals, top seed Anshuman Agarwal put it across Aaron Farias, winning the engaging duel by a 3-1 (11-6, 9-11, 11-6, 11-6) scoreline. Dheeraj Rai ended the season on a high by clinching the Men’s Singles title in a marathon 4-3 (11-4, 11-5, 9-11, 6-11, 7-11, 11-8, 13-11) win over G. Arvind Kumar. Ruchi Kirtani breezed past Neeza Kamat to win the U13 Girls title with a 3-1 (7-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-5) victory, while Rishan Shaikh secured a near similar 3-1 (9-11, 11-8, 12-10, 11-6) win over Atharva Dhulapkar to emerge, Boys, U13 winner. In the U11 section, Chandan Caro defeated Dhruva Kamat 3 -0 (11-7, 11-9, 12-10), while Ishita Colaco beat Samaira Verlekar 3-0 (11-2, 11-5, 11-3) to win the Boys and Girls titles respectively.
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