Nashik: Nashik paddlers made a winning start to the season at the 1st Maharashtra State Ranking Table Tennis Championship held in Nagpur, with Swara Karmarkar clinching a gold medal in the Under-17 girls' singles and a silver in the Under-19 girls' singles, while Keshika Purkar captured the Under-13 girls' singles title. Their performances reinforced Nashik's growing reputation in the girls' section of the state circuit.
Top seed Swara Karmarkar defeated second seed Myra Sangale of TSTTA Mumbai 11-9, 9-11, 11-6, 11-9 in the Under-17 final to seal a 3-1 victory and the gold medal. She had earlier stormed into the title clash after a straight-games 11-6, 11-7, 11-4 win over Harini Shah of TSTTA Mumbai in the semi-finals.
In the Under-19 category, Swara produced one of the tournament's biggest upsets by defeating experienced Nagpur paddler Jennifer Varghese 12-10, 5-11, 11-5, 11-9 in the semi-finals. However, she went down to top seed Kavya Bhat of Thane in the final and finished with the silver medal after another commendable campaign.
Top-seeded Keshika Purkar emerged champion in the Under-13 girls' event, rallying from a game down to beat third seed Jia Vardhan of Thane 5-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-7 in the final. Displaying composure and tactical discipline, Keshika dominated the final three games to secure the title.
Both Swara Karmarkar and Keshika Purkar train under coaches Jay Modak and Puneet Desai. Their achievements were applauded by office-bearers of the Nashik District Table Tennis Association, including president Narendra Chhajed, vice-presidents Rajesh Bharvirkar and Milind Kachole, secretary Shekhar Bhandari, treasurer Abhishek Chhajed and other association officials, who congratulated the duo and wished them continued success.
