A DAY after winning a bronze medal, Nagpur’s rapidly improving table tennis player Jennifer Verghese bettered the colour of her medal winning a silver in the RYP-Dr Ramesh Yashwant Prabhoo Memorial 1st Maharashtra State Ranking Table Tennis Tournament 2021-2022 at the Prabodhankar Thackeray Krida Sankul, Vile Parle on Sunday. The event was conducted by The Suburban Table Tennis Association (TSTTA) under the auspices of the MSTTA. Jennifer, who won bronze in U-15 age group, picked her second medal of the tourney pocketing silver in the U-19 singles category. In the all important final of the U-19 singles, Jennifer warmed-up a bit late. Eighth seed Jennifer lost the first game 1-11 in no time against second seed Sayali Wani of Nashik. But the Nagpur girl came up with much improved show from there on only to go down fighting. Sayali had to be on her toes to encounter the resistance from Jennifer in the next three games which she won 11-8, 15-13, 12-10.

 

Earlier in the semis, Jennifer was stretched to the limit by TSTTA’s Vidhi Shah. In the see-saw match Jennifer won 4-3 (10-12, 11-4, 11-13, 11-5, 11-9, 8-11, 11-8). She also conceded one game on her way to booking a berth in the last-four against. In the quarters, she pipped Mukta Dalvi, also of TSTTA 11-6, 2-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-6. As luck could have it, Jennifer was drawn against Sayali in the U-17 singles quarter-final. The match went to the wire as both players fought tooth and nail till five games. Sayali dominated the last two to get the better of Jennifer in seven games 5-11, 11-9, 11-9, 12-14, 9-11, 11-3, 11-1. Unfancied Shubha Bhat of Thane scored stunning victories en route to clinching the gold medal in the girls Under-21 singles while Nashik girl Taneesha Kotecha won the girls’ Under-17 title respectively.