Trisha Gogoi gave Assam their best chance by beating both of their favorite opponents in a tight clash. However, Senhora D’Souza saved Maharashtra – last year’s bronze medalists – from the agony of being eliminated from the round of 16 by winning the deciding match of the tie despite having their backs against the wall.
Senhora’s comeback win saw Maharashtra beat Assam 3-2 to set up a quarter-final clash with Haryana in the women’s team championship of the 86th National Senior Championships at the Pandit Dindayal Upadhyay Stadium on Monday.
When Trisha stunned Taneesha Kotecha in the battle of the strongest players to equalize the tie at two round robin points and force a decisive lead, Senhora was expected to pass Bhavna Kashyap.
While Bhavna upped the ante mid-match, Senhora, an experienced campaigner, went stiff in the fourth game. In the fifth game, Bhavna quickly took a 7-3 lead after great forehand spins, and the girls from Assam felt nervous. Senhora then started opening up her forehand and tied the score at 7-7.
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However, Bhavna then led 10-8 and had two match points. However, an error by the Assam rower followed by forehand topspin forced a tie-break and Senhora had the last laugh, helping Maharashtra coach Mahendra Chiplunkar breathe a sigh of relief.
In the men’s category, PB Abhinandh kept a clean sheet while S. Preyesh Raj upset veteran Sourav Saha, who helped Tamil Nadu beat Bengal 3-1 and set up a quarter-final clash with Delhi. TTFI 1 – consisting of one of the two disputed Rajasthan factions – first took Bengal to the top spot in Group D and then saw Gujarat lose 3-2 in the quarter-finals of a marathon victory.
Team Championship semi-final results:
Women:
Maharashtra bt Assam 3:2 (Taneesha Kotecha bt Bhavna Kashyap 11:4, 11:7, 11:9; Senhora D’Souza lost to Trisha Gogoi 9:11, 11:4, 11:4, 5:11, 10- 12; Sampada Bhiwandkar defeated Gargi Saikia 11:5, 11-3, 11-6; to Trisha 11-9, 7-11, 10-12, 11-8, 3-11; PSPB vs. Telangana 3-1; :0; Maharashtra vs. Assam 3-2; Tamil Nadu beat Chandigarh 3-0; Gujarat vs. Odisha 3-0; Delhi – Karnataka 3-0; PSPB defeated Uttar Pradesh 3-0.
Men:
Tamil Nadu – Bengal 3:2 (S. Preyesh Raj – Sourav Saha 14:16, 12:10; 8:11; 11-9, 11-2; PB Abhinandh – Punit Biswas 11:8, 11:5, 11- 13, 11:5; S. Karthikeyan lost to Shankhadip Das 9:11, 10:12, 7-11; Abhinandh bt Sourav 9-11, 11-9, 11-4, 12-10); PSPB vs Karnataka 3-0; Telangana vs Odisha 3-0; Delhi-Uttar Pradesh 3-0; TTFI 1 vs. Gujarat 3-2; Assam v Haryana 3-2; TTFI 1 vs. Gujarat 3-2; Maharashtra beat Uttarakhand 3-0; RSPB defeated Punjab 3-1.
