Pune district table-tennis c’ship: Lohapatre upsets second-seed Galpalli to win junior title

Pune In the boys’ final of the Pune district table-tennis association played at PYC Hindu Gymkhana, ninth seed Gaurav Lohapatre triumphed in six games over second

Pune In the boys’ final of the Pune district table-tennis association played at PYC Hindu Gymkhana, ninth seed Gaurav Lohapatre triumphed in six games over second seed Aarush Galpalli in the junior boys final to win his second title of the season. The final score read 7-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-9, 8-11, 11-6 in favour of the BMCC student.

Gaurav Lohapatre managed to keep his focus and stay on the attack in his win in the junior finals for boys. (RAVINDRA JOSHI/HT PHOTO)

Despite being the more experienced of the two finalists, Lohapatre had the odds stacked against him as he came up against the highest ranked player left in the tournament in Galpalli. Thus, there were no surprises when Galpalli won the first game by a 11-7 scoreline.

At the break between games, Lohapatre had an intense discussion with his coaches Shivam Chuneja and Sandeep Gupta. Whatever they said to him seemed to work wonders as he came back in the second as a rejuvenated spirit. He targeted his opponent’s serve and improved on his own serve from the first to comfortably win the second game 11-5. The third game, too, was smooth sailing for the 17-year-old as he won it 11-4 to take a 2-1 lead at a crucial stage in the game.

With all the momentum on Lohapatre’s side, it was a surprise when Galpalli appeared to take charge of the fourth game. He found a way to make good returns on his opponent’s serve and often took charge of the points. However, he failed to make his slender advantage count and it cost him dearly as Lohaptre won the fourth game 11-9 to make the game score 3-1.

However, Galpalli wasn’t ready to give up just as yet and with the backing of his coach, he fought his back into the game and won the fifth game of the contest 11-8.

All he needed to was the make the most of his momentum and win the sixth game, to push the contest into a decider but he seemed fatigued after the first few points of the game. The experienced Lohapatre took full advantage of this and wrapped up the match after winning the sixth 11-6.

In the junior girls’ final, top-seed Pritha Vartikar outclassed second seeded Swapnali Narle 11-9, 11-2, 8-11, 11-5, 11-7. Since the first game of the contest, it was clear who the better and fitter player and it showed as Narle could not stop the irresistible Vartikar from lifting the title.

After pulling the match back to 2-1 after winning the third game 11-8, Narle hoped to capitalise on her momentum, but some good defense by Vartikar saw the second seed looking for answers. She tried to pull every ace she had up her sleeve, but the top seed held her own and saw off the challenge, winning the match four games to one. This was Vartikar’s third tournament win of the season.