Olympian Achanta Sharath Kamal retained the men's singles title for the Maharaja Pithapuram Cup while top seed K Shamini lifted the Travancore Cup by winning the women's singles competition in the 70th Senior National Table Tennis Championship at the Secretariat Indoor Hall in Patna on Sunday.
Former national champion Mouma Das went down to PSPB's Shamini 2-4 in a keenly-contested final, while top seed and India's number one paddler, Sharath, trounced unseeded Pathik Mehta 4-1.
Mouma, who earlier clinched the women's doubles title pairing up with another former national champion Poulomi Ghatak, scripted a brilliant comeback during the fourth game of the singles final after Shamini bagged the first three games 11-8, 11-8, 11-6.
Although Mouma recaptured her touch late in the match to clinch the next two games at 11-8 each, her effort was clearly not enough to disrupt the rhythm of the Chennai girl, who clinched her maiden national crown by winning a thrilling fifth set 13-11.
Sharath, who spanked Sourav Chakraborty of RSPB 4-1 in the last-four stage, didn't face much problem in getting past Pathik of Gujarat en route the national title for the fourth time.
After winning a close first game 12-10, the 26-year-old Sharath dominated the show to clinch the next two games 11-8, 11-4.
{{/usCountry}}After winning a close first game 12-10, the 26-year-old Sharath dominated the show to clinch the next two games 11-8, 11-4.
{{/usCountry}}Pathik staged a fightback winning the fourth game 11-9 but the lanky Chennai boy neutralised his threat to wrap up the match 12-10.