Surat paddler Manav misses national title by a whisker

AHMEDABAD: Surat's prolific paddler Manav Thakkar's case was so near yet so far during the recently concluded 75th Cadet and Sub-Junior National Table Tennis Championships held in Ajmer.
The PSBP player was three games up and was on match point at 10-6 in the sub-junior category final against North Bengal's Akash Nath when the calamity struck.
Thakkar was stuck at 10 while Nath saved four straight match-points to level the score and then win at 12-10.This was the beginning of a wonderful comeback by Nath who fought from the brink to snatch the crown from PSPB Academy's Manav Thakkar at the MC Chowhan Indoor Stadium.
That game changed the complexion of the match as the North Bengal boy gained ascendancy while Thakkar went into despair, losing the last three games and the title.
The way Manav was playing, it would be fitting to say that he didn't win a silver but lost the gold. However, consolation came the Surtis way when he, along with his PSPB partner Anukram Jain defeated Jeeth Chandra and Akash Choudhary (WB) 3-1 (11-7, 10-12, 11-5, 11-8) to capture the gold in sub-junior boys doubles category.