Gujarat women stretch Haryana
2 min read
Dehradun (Team Newsbuddy) – Maharashtra (Group A) and West Bengal (Group B) secured semifinal spots in the women’s team championships at the 38th National Games after dominant second-round wins. Maharashtra beat Delhi 3-0 and Tamil Nadu 3-1, while West Bengal secured identical victories over Karnataka and Haryana. Tamil Nadu and Delhi, both with wins over Uttarakhand, will fight for the second Group A spot. In Group B, Haryana and Karnataka face off for the remaining semifinal berth.
In the men’s event, Tamil Nadu stormed into the semifinals with 3-1 wins over Telangana and Uttar Pradesh in Group A. Maharashtra joined them from Group B, blanking West Bengal and Uttarakhand 3-0. Both teams play another round, but their focus will be on their semifinal opponents.
Group B saw a dramatic clash as Haryana edged out Gujarat 3-2 in a nail-biting encounter. Haryana’s top player Suhana Saini, nursing a shoulder injury sustained at the Senior Nationals in Surat, showed resilience in her opening match against Kadrifilzah Zahurhusen. Despite struggling with discomfort, she pulled through in five games (11-4, 11-9, 10-12, 4-11, 11-6). However, she later fell to Oishiki Joardar, displaying solid attacking play.
With the tie locked at 2-2, the decider rested on Prithoki Chakraborty, who had earlier lost to Oishiki. Facing Kadrifilzah, she bounced back strongly, overcoming a first-game deficit to win 4-11, 11-4, 11-7, 12-10, securing Haryana’s hard-fought victory.
Karnataka faced a similar test against Gujarat but held their nerve in a tight 3-2 win. Deshna M. Vanshika sealed the tie in the deciding match after Kushi Viswanath had levelled it with a commanding 11-6, 11-5, 11-6 win over Oishiki. Earlier, Deshna had fallen to Oishiki in four games, but she made amends with a clutch performance to take Karnataka through.
Maharashtra cruised past Uttarakhand and Delhi, with Diya Chitale and Taneesha Kotecha leading the charge. Despite Reeth Rishya’s close loss to Yashini Sivashankar, Taneesha secured the semifinal spot with a 3-2 win over Selena Deepthi.
In the men’s matches, G. Sathiyan’s return strengthened Tamil Nadu, overcoming an upset where Anthony Amalraj lost to SFR Snehit. Sathiyan sealed their win in the first round. Delhi dropped a tie against hosts Uttarakhand, but Payas Jain ensured victory. In a standout moment, Uttarakhand’s Khayati Pande, a sub-junior, upset Riddhima Kapoor of Delhi in a thrilling five-game match.
Results: (Rounds 1 and 2):
Women’s Team:
Group A: Tamil Nadu bt Uttarakhand 3-0, Maharashtra bt Delhi 3-0; Maharashtra bt Tamil Nadu 3-1, Delhi bt Uttarakhand 3-1.
Group B: West Bengal bt Karnataka 3-0, Haryana bt Gujarat 3-2; West Bengal bt Haryana 3-1, Karnataka bt Gujarat 3-2.
Men’s Team:
Group A: Tamil Nadu bt Telangana 3-1, Assam bt Uttar Pradesh 3-0; Tamil Nadu bt Uttar Pradesh 3-1, Telangana bt Assam 3-1.
Group B: Maharashtra bt West Bengal 3-0, Delhi bt Uttarakhand 3-1; West Bengal bt Delhi 3-1, Maharashtra bt Uttarakhand 3-0.
