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Assam paddlers shine in sub-jr nationals

By The Assam Tribune

GUWAHATI, Dec 3 - Assam stunned Tamil Nadu with a 3-1 verdict to enter the quarterfinals of the Sub-Junior Boys team event in the 78th Cadet and Sub-Junior National Table Tennis Championships at the SMC Indoor Stadium Siliguri yesterday, stated a release issued here by the Assam Table Tennis Association.

In another shock defeat, last year�s bronze medallist Haryana were sent packing by Gujarat�s Cadet Girls in the pre-quarterfinals when the latter posted a hard-fought 3-2 victory. Gujarat girls had finished ninth in the last edition at Kolkata.

But for these two surprise results in these two sections, the other teams that entered the main draw quarterfinals had easy outings against their rivals.

Tamil Nadu, comprising Preyesh Raj, Vishwa Deenadayalan and Varun Ganesh-all match winners on their day-would not have anticipated such a bad thrashing despite them being all cadet boys. The Assam boys must be given credit for the way they approached the match and took on the might of Tamil Nadu to make a bold statement at the nationals.

Vishwa was the lone player to post a win when he beat Arshad Zubayr in the first rubber but the shocking defeat by Preyesh Raj, who swept through all zonal titles this season, upset their applecart, thanks to Agniv Bhaskar who won both his singles. In between, the Assamese pair accounted for Vishwa and Varun Ganesh in the doubles to complete their misery.

Later, Assam�s Sub-Junior Girls had another surprise in store when they beat Uttar Pradesh 3-1, thanks to Trisha Gogoi who shouldered the maximum burden for Assam. After Gargee beat Suhana Narjinary 3-1, Trisha defeated Radhapriya Goel by a similar verdict to put the northeast team 2-0 up. But the Assamese pair of Gargee and Trisha lost their doubles 3-1. Yet, Trisha helped her team with a 11-13, 11-7, 11-5, 11-8 win against Suhana to complete another fruitful outing in the knockout stage.

The Assam Sub Junior Girls team continued its spirited performance by reaching the semifinal stage with a 3-2 victory against mighty Tamil Nadu team. Trisha Gogoi again played a vital role by winning both her singles matches and hereby Assam is assured of a medal in this nationals.

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