Nashik: Nashik’s Kushal Chopra clinched the gold medal in the men’s singles, while Swara Karmarkar secured two silver medals in the women’s singles and girls’ under-19 categories at the 4th State Ranking Table Tennis Tournament held in Wardha.
Kushal Chopra defeated Kolhapur’s Anish Sonatakke 4-1 in the final, winning 11-8, 8-11, 11-6, 11-7 and 11-9 to claim the championship and the gold medal.
This was Kushal’s second men’s singles title and his 22nd state-level championship overall. He has won titles in every age category during his career.
In the under-19 girls’ singles, Swara Karmarkar finished runner-up after losing to Nagpur’s Ikshita Umate in the final. Umate won the closely contested match 4-1, with scores of 11-8, 8-11, 5-11, 9-11 and 4-11, earning Swara the silver medal.
Swara also reached the final of the women’s singles, where she faced experienced Pune player Pritha Vertikar. Vertikar defeated Swara 4-2, winning 11-6, 11-6, 7-11, 8-11, 3-11 and 7-11. Despite putting up a strong fight and winning two games, Swara had to settle for her second silver medal of the tournament.
The players were congratulated on their achievement by Nashik District Table Tennis Association president Narendra Chhajed, vice-presidents Rajesh Bharvirkar and Milind Kachole, secretary Shekhar Bhandari, treasurer Abhishek Chhajed, Sanjay Vasant, Alka Kulkarni, Vaibhav Joshi and Suhas Agharkar.
