Amalraj, Poulami reign supreme at National Table Tennis Championships

LUCKNOW: A Amalraj showcased his talent for a deserving maiden title triumph, upstaging A Sharath Kamal in the final of the 73rd Senior National and Inter-State Table Tennis Championships, on Sunday.
On the distaff side, Poulami Ghatak exacted revenge of last year’s loss in the final to K Shamini, to maul her in four straight games for her seventh national crown.
The fiery men’s final was followed by drama and controversy. But it also turned out to be a little wild as the new champion choose to celebrate his big win by first throwing the racquet and then jumping on the table pumping his arms. The referee pulled out the yellow card, yet Amalraj didn’t pay any heed, going around the court, warranting a red card from the umpire and the referee.
Now he stands to lose 25 per cent of his prize money purse of Rs 2.1 lakh, a punishment that has been recommended to the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) by competition manager N Ganeshan.
The incident was a stigma to an otherwise pulsating final. Amalraj dethroned six-time national champion Sharath 4-2 (11-8, 11-8, 12-10, 9-11, 7-11, 11-8).
He had also overcome Sharath in the final of the inter-institutional championships this season.
Nothing seemed to stop Amalraj, and he went for his shots from the word go. Coming back from 6-8 down in all the opening three games to win, he faltered a little when his rival slowed down the pace in the fourth and fifth games.
But the Chennai lad displayed great fighting power and mental strength to scotch any comeback chances for Sharath in the sixth. After the two traded blistering shots, Amalraj inched ahead from 7-all to lead 10-8. And finally, when Sharath couldn’t control a close-to-the-net serve from Amalraj, there followed some uncontrolled celebrations by the champion.
Amalraj said he drew his confidence from the inter-institutional win against the same player. "I had beaten Sharath before and my confidence was high. I wanted to continue in the same vein. My national-level goal has been achieved and I now want to concentrate on an even bigger goal. I am off the Germany to train for the Asian and World Championships," he said.
It was a title double for Amalraj, as had won the men's doubles along with Sanil Shetty, defeating Harmit Desai and Devesh Karia of Gujarat (3-2) 12-10, 8-11, 10-11, 11-6, 12-10 in the final.
The women's final, however, failed to rise to great heights with Poulami exploiting Shamini's unforced errors to the hilt to triumph 4-0 (11-9, 11-4, 11-8, 11-7).
Results (all finals)
Men: Amalraj bt Sharath Kamal 4-2 (11-8, 11-8, 12-10, 9-11, 7-11, 11-8)
Women: Poulami Ghatak bt Shamini K 4-0 (11-9, 11-4, 11-8, 11-7)