Anil Kashyap of Assam lifted the winner’s trophy after beating Sudhir Kesarwani of RBI in the final of the 40+ category singles at the 29th National Masters Table Tennis Championships here on Sunday.
In contrast to the two higher-category finals that went down to the wire, Kashyap disposed of his rival in less than 10 minutes as Kesarwani failed to overcome his opponent. In the 50+ singles final, the results could have gone either way at 11-11 in the fifth game. But Manish Rawat of Maharashtra, suffering cramps, conceded the match as Malay Kumar Thakkar took home the gold.
Thakkar led 2-1, but the Maharashtra paddler fought back to level the score. In the decisive fifth game, Rawat conceded with cramps making it worse for him to continue.
In the 60+ singles final, Anil Rasam of Maharashtra led 2-1. But a fightback from Pankaj Sharma saw Rasam pushed to the brink as the Punjab paddler took the fourth game to pull level. In the last game, Sharma lost his steam and wilted under pressure from Rasam.
