Performance of Odisha players in individual events of the 80th Senior National Table Tennis Championship here at JN Indoor Stadium went on predictable lines as most of them lost in the first or second round. However, M Eshwar Rao stood out among them, reaching men’s doubles third round with Snehamoy Mallick as his partner.

Cuttack paddler Rao was also the only Odisha player to win a match in men’s singles main draw. He beat Mohammed Ali Baba (RBI) in the first round and then lost to Zubin Kumar (Haryana) in the second.

Lack of infrastructure, coaching and exposure facilities have been the major reasons for Odisha players not achieving notable success at the National championships. However, factors such as the hosting of the National championships and the support the State Government has provided in recent time, should help them make their mark at national and international arena in future.

ODISHA RESULTS:

MEN’S SINGLES: Asif Haque (Odisha) got bye in 1st round; lost to Shivanand Shesadri (Tamil Nadu) 2-3 (11-8, 11-13, 6-11, 11-9, 10-12) in 2nd round. M Eshwar Rao (Odisha) beat Mohammed Ali Baba (RBI) 3-0 (11-2, 11-8, 11-7) in 1st round; Lost to Zubin Kumar (Haryana) 0-3 (3-11, 9-11, 3-11) in 2nd round. Snehamoy Mallick (Odisha) lost to Senthura Pandy (Andhra Pradesh) 1-3 (11-6, 6-11, 12-14, 4-11) in 1st round. Krishan Prusty (Odisha) lost to Aleeko Hazarika (Assam) 0-3 (9-11, 6-11, 6-11) in 1st round.

WOMEN’S SINGLES: Samartha Prusty (Odisha) Got bye in 1st round; Lost to Pooja Sharma (Audits & Accounts) 1-3 (11-5, 4-11, 9-11, 6-11) in 2nd round.

MEN DOUBLES: Asif Haque-Bikash Kumar Singh (Odisha) beat Piyush Gandhi-Yogesh Mathuri (Bihar) 3-1 (11-8, 10-12, 11-7, 11-9) in 1st round; Lost to Sougata Sarkar-Abhimanyu Mitra (WB) 1-3 (10-12, 11-6, 4-11, 8-11) in 2nd round. Snehamoy Mallick-M Eshwar Rao (Odisha) got bye in 1st round; Beat Soumyajeet Ghosh-S Chaturvedi (MP) 3-1 (11-7, 11-7, 10-12, 12-10) in the 2nd round; Lost to Siddhes Pandey-Sanish Ambekar (Haryana) 0-3 (9-11, 6-11, 2-11) in 3rd round.

WOMEN DOUBLES: Samartha Prusty-Mayuri Chatterjee (Odisha) beat Chandni Kumari-Shruti Mahanand (Jharkhand) 3-0 (11-5, 11-8, 11-8) in the 1st round; Lost to Manika Batra-Archana Kamath (PSPB) 0-3 (3-11, 7-11, 5-11) in 2nd round.

MIXED DOUBLES: Snehamoy Mallick-Poushali Ghatak (Odisha) lost to Roychoudhury-K Viswanath (Karnataka) 1-3 (8-11, 3-11, 11-8, 8-11) in 1st round. Asif Haque-Mayuri Chatterjee (Odisha) lost to RR Anandh-Jacob Seraha (Tamil Nadu) 1-3 (3-11, 9-11, 11-6, 4-11) in 1st round.
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PHOTO: Players and officials of Odisha State Table Tennis Association and State Sports Department in Cuttack on January 9, 2019.