Frenaz shines at home, Karanpal captures maiden title

Surat: Home girl and sixth seed Frenaz Chipia upset the applecart by defeating fourth seed  and winner of previous edition Radhapriya Goel 4-1 to win the women’s trophy of the of the Tapti Valley International School 7th Gujarat State Ranking Table Tennis Tournament 2023 organized by Table Tennis Association of Surat District under the aegis of Gujarat State Table Tennis Association (GSTTA) from September 8 to 10 at Tapti Valley International School, Surat.

Frenaz was off the blocks in a hurry and was in total control of the match finishing off three quick games. Radhapriya did try to stage a comeback winning the fourth game but Frenaz was in no mood to relent and won the next two games to close the match with ease. “I played Radhapriya recently in the inter-institutional meet and got the better of her there. Today also, I was confident against her,” Chipia said.

Excitement, however, was on offer in the men’s final where Bhavnagar’s seasoned paddler and third seed Karanpal Jadeja came back from a game down to beat fourth seed Armaan Sheikh 4-1 to win the title, his first-ever in his 11-year-long table tennis career.

“I have played many semi-finals and finals before but faltered at the final hurdle somehow. However, today, I was up against someone I have beaten comfortably in the past so it was my best opportunity and I was determined to grab it with both hands,” the 21-year-old Jadeja said.

Surat’s rising star and third seed Aayush Tanna completed a double crown, his first in his career, after winning the boy’s U-19 title by snatching victory from the hands of defeat against top seed Aarman Sheikh. Earlier, Aayush had won the boy-15 title.

The girls U-19 final was an all-Amdavadi affair where the fourth seed Nidhi Prajapati fought hard to beat the second seed Jiya Trivedi and walk away with the crown.

Nidhi, however, could not keep up with the winning momentum going in the U-17 title clash, where the Amdavadi paddler went down to top seed Riya Jaiswal 2-3.

With this, GSTTA completed organising all the seven state ranking tournaments of this season. The Gujarat State and Inter-District Table Tennis Championships 2023, the biggest tournament of the season, will be held at SAG Sports Complex in Khokara, Ahmedabad from September 27 October 2, which will be the last championship of the season.

Men’s: 3-Karanpal Jadeja (BVN) bt 4-Armaan Sheikh (ARV) 8-11, 11-8, 13-11, 11-6, 11-7

Women’s: 6-Frenaz Chipia (SRT) bt 4-Radhapriya Goel (GNR) 11-5, 11-6, 11-9, 9-11, 11-6

U-19 Boys: 3-Aayush Tanna (SRT) bt 1-Armaan Sheikh (ARV) 8-11, 11-8, 9-11, 2-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-9

U- 19 Girls: 4-Nidhi Prajapati (AHD) bt 2-Jiya Trivedi (AHD) 8-11, 11-7, 7-11, 11-4, 11-6, 4-11, 12-10

U-17 Girls: 1-Riya Jaiswal (BVN) bt 7-Nidhi Prajapati (AHD) 8-11, 11-4, 15-17, 11-6, 11-6