Gujarat women’s team storm into quarterfinals

Surat :  Local girl Frenaz Chipia overcame a shaky start to beat Neha Kumari 3-2 of Odisha to help Gujarat’s women team clean sweep Odisha 3-0 seal their quarterfinal berth at the UTT 86th Senior National Inter-State Table Tennis Championships 2024 played at the Pandit Dindayal Upadhyay Indoor Stadium on Monday.

The Championships is organized by Gujarat State Table Tennis Association (GSTTA) and Table Tennis Association of Surat District (TTASD) under the aegis of Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) with the support of Sports Authority of India (SAI), Sports Authority of Gujarat (SAG) and Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC).

The title sponsor of the event is UTT and the event is powered by Hero, co-sponsored by NJ Group, associate sponsored by Gujarat Tourism, ONGC, Pratibha Group and Airport Authority of India. Stiga will be equipment partners while SIDS Hospital will be the medical partner.

After Frenaz’s emphatic win in the opening match, seasoned paddler Kritwikka Sinha Roy weaved her magic on the table to win Gujarat’s second match and give the hosts 2-0 lead.

An easy 3-0 victory by rising talent Oishiki Joardar over Mayuri Chatterjee handed

Gujarat women the ticket to last four stage where they will clash with the mighty Tamil Nadu who whisked past Chandigarh 3-0.

“It took me some time to get used to her game but after the second game, I cracked her and slowly grew in confidence and closed the tie,” said the 28-year-old Surti.

In the meanwhile, Gujarat’s men’s team, led by Chitrax Bhatt, finished second in Group C behind Delhi to make it to the pre-quarterfinals where they will clash with TTFI-I for a place in the quarters.