Thunderkatz fend off Invaders

Photo: Mukund Bhute

A Thunderkatz player unleashes a somersault kick


B D Narayankar

bapu_narayankar@rediffmail.com

PUNE: Thunderkatz ‘B’ authored a hard-earned 1-0 win over Invaders in the 10th Srikant Lingayat Memorial football tournament being organised by Kanaujia Pardeshi Football Club at Ghorpadi Military ground here on September 3.

Vinay Katyal stole the thunder for Thunderkatz, scoring the all-important match-winner. He was a livewire on the field. Apart from setting up attacks, he was penetrating the opponent’s citadel with alarming regularity.

Vinay struck the decisive goal, slamming the ball past the diving goalkeeper in a spectacular fashion in the 10th minute. In the second half, the battle assumed exciting proportions as both teams weaved some fantastic counter-attacks.

They, however, failed to translate them into goals.In another match, Chetak ‘C’ edged out KP ‘B’ by a solitary goal. Ravi Daitankar found the target for Chetak in the 20th minute. Stallion Football Club also chalked up a 2-0 victory over Poona Socials ‘B’. Piyush Ingle and Akash Kudu bloated the net in the 24th and 27th minutes respectively.

In yet another match, Vilson’s Old Boys’ Association put it across Extreme Warriors 1-0 thanks to an exhilarating 6th minute goal from Ryan Godinho.

RESULTS: Thunderkatz ‘B’ 1 (Vinay Katyal) bt Invaders 0; Vilson’s Old Boys’ Association 1 (Ryan Godinho) bt Extreme Warriors 0; Stallion Football Club 2 (Piyush Ingle, Akash Kudu) bt Poona Socials ‘B’ 0; Chetak ‘C’ 1 (Ravi Daitankar) bt KP ‘B’

Manasi stuns top seed down under

B D Narayankar

bapu_narayankar@rediffmail.com

PUNE: Instead of watching a wretched Ram Gopal Varma’s Aag, it would have been better to have witnessed an exciting finale between Manasi Munj and Devika Bhide in the cadet girls’ district-ranking table tennis tournament at Sharada Centre here on Saturday.

The Devika-Manasi final was the most thrilling match of the tournament till date. It was so intriguing that second seed Manasi came back from 0-2 down to stun top seed Devika 9-11, 8-11, 14-12, 11-8, 11-9 to claim the cadet girl’s title in grand style.

Manasi began her campaign by losing first two games 9-11, 8-11. Capitalising on Manasi’s diffidence, Devika throttled her opponent by her intelligent shot selections, breaking her rhythm. These losses made Manasi a determined player as she knew she had not lost them by a huge margin.

Manasi fought her way back confidently in the third game, hardly compromising on her attacking shots, forcing Devika to scurry for some vital points. The evenly-poised game kept both spectators and players at tenterhooks till the last minute. Manasi, in a phoenix-like performance, prevailed over Devika by winning 14-12.

Making full use of the virtual come back, Manasi scripted next two wins, playing with gusto.

In other matches, Shubhankar Renavikar, Nitish Sapre, Shubhankar Ranade and Aniket Gulwani thrashed Neeraj Sane, Nitish Purandare, Swanand Limaye and Rushikesh Kukarni respectively, and raced into semi-finals.

RESULTS: Cadet girls’ final: Manasi Munj bt Devika Bhide 9-11, 8-11, 14-12, 11-8, 11-9; Cadet boys’ quarter-final: Shubhankar Renavikar bt Neeraj Sane 9-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-6, 11-3; Nitish Sapre bt Nitish Purandare 11-7, 8-11, 11-7, 11-5, 8-11, 12-10; Shubhankar Ranade bt Swanand Limaye 11-7, 11-9, 11-7, 13-11; Aniket Gulwani bt Rushikesh Kukarni 11-6, 11-5, 11-8, 11-6

Amol sends Anish to the cleaners

B D Narayankar

bapu_narayankar@rediffmail.com

PUNE: Fourth seed Amol Soman had it easy pipping Anish Pathak in the junior boy singles second round of the district-ranking table tennis tournament at Sharada Centre here on Wednesday.

Disappointed at having conceded the opening game to Anish, Amol rallied brilliantly from a game down to outlast his opponent 10-12, 11-6, 11-5, 11-9 with an array of delectable strokes.

If Anish smashed out Amol in the first game, the latter wormed his way up to exert pressure, earning vital points at crucial junctures. Amol broke away to pocket the second game at 11-6 and then rubbed it in, winning the third at 11-5. Retaining his poise, Amol made a fantastic effort to win the fourth game at 11-9. It was a shattering blow to Anish, who could only present a picture of sombre disappointment.

RESULTS: Second round: Junior boy’s singles: Amol Soman bt Anish Pathak 10-12, 11-6, 11-5, 11-9; Neeraj Sane bt Saurabh Kesari 11-7, 11-9, 11-5; Pranav Renavikar bt Neel Joshi 11-5, 11-5, 11-7; Umesh Khopade bt Shaunakh Juvekar 11-9, 11-8, 11-3; Shubhankar Ranade bt Shardul Rautmore 11-4, 11-7, 11-4; Amol Kolhatkar bt Sameer Kulkarni 11-5, 11-2, 11-3; Richard Serrao bt Yash Gowankar 11-8, 11-4, 11-3; Nitish Sapre bt Siddhant Bhide 6-11, 11-5, 13-11, 11-9; Tejas Mirajkar bt Vinay Modak 11-5, 11-9, 11-8; Adwait Brahme bt Swapnil Joshi 5-11, 11-4, 11-9, 8-11, 13-11; Archit Chepe bt Dheeraj Kumavat 11-2, 11-7, 11-4; Arnav Phadnis bt Rohit Mhaskar 11-5, 11-7, 14-12; Anish Pathak bt Sujit Pingale 11-5, 11-9, 12-10.