Top seeds Omkar, Mamta emerge winners

Mumbai: Top seeds Omkar Torgalkar of Mumbai Suburban and Mamta Prabhu of Thane lived up to their reputations by clinching men`s and women`s titles respectively in the YMCA 1st State Ranking Table Tennis Tournament at the University Pavilion. Torgalkar overcame second seed Rohit Chaudhary of Pune 11-5, 12-10, 11-9, 8-11, 11-6 in a close men`s final, while Prabhu beat second seed Runa Roy of Mumbai Suburban 11-9, 9-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-13, 11-3 in an exciting women`s final. Chaudhary ran Torgalkar close in the second and third games and snatched the fourth before his challenge ended in the fifth when the favourite raced ahead. Prabhu, an officer in Dena Bank, endured a strong challenge until the fifth game that stretched into extra points. Prabhu surged to an early lead in the crucial sixth leaving Roy little room for a recovery. Sanmay Paranjape of Pune and Mallika Bhandarkar of Nagpur, who clinched the junior boys and girls titles respectively yesterday, added the youth titles for a double delight. Second seed Paranjape upset top seed Noel Pinto of Mumbai Suburban 8-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-8, 4-11, 11-9, while number six Bhandarkar prevailed over fourth seed Shweta Parte of Mumbai City 11-5, 11-9, 7-11, 11-4, 11-6. The prizes were presented by Joint Commissioner (Administration) Bhagwantrao More. Men`s singles (Final): 1-Omkar Torgalkar (Mum Sub) 2-Rohit Chaudhary (Pune) 11-5, 12-10, 11-9, 8-11, 11-6. Semi-Finals: 1-Omkar Torgalkar (Mum Sub) bt 4-Eric Fernandes (Mum Sub) 11-5, 11-9, 11-9, 11-9; 2-Rohit Chaudhary (Pune) bt Aditya Mahagaonkar (Mum Sub) 11-8, 16-14, 11-9, 11-6. Women`s singles (Final): 1-Mamta Prabhu (Thane) bt 2-Runa Roy (Mum Sub) 11-9, 9-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-13, 11-3. Semi-finals: 1-Mamta Prabhu (Thane) bt 5-Janhavi Deshpande (Mum Sub) 11-5, 16-14, 11-9, 11-8; 2-Runa Roy (Mum Sub) bt 6-Mallika Bhandarkar (Nagpur) 11-8, 9-11, 11-8, 11-3, 11-8. Youth boys (Final): 2-Sanmay Paranjape (Pune) bt 1-Noel Pinto (Mum Sub) 8-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-8, 4-11, 11-9. Youth girls (Final): 6-Mallika Bhandarkar (Nagpur) bt 4-Shweta Parte (Mum City) 11-5, 11-9, 7-11, 11-4, 11-6. Bureau Report