TABLE TENNIS | Double crown for Syndrela, Payas claims men’s title

Syndrela Das marked her 17th birthday in style, claiming a double crown, while Payas Jain bounced back from the disappointment of losing the Commonwealth Championship final three weeks ago to headline the final day of the UTT National ranking table tennis tournament at The Sportz Hub here on Sunday.

On an action-packed day, the senior paddlers negotiated their last three rounds while the youth events reached their climax. Syndrela, who played seven matches without dropping one game, outclassed fellow teenager Divyanshi Bhowmick in the women’s final.

Divyanshi, fresh from winning the under-17 title and having bowed out to Ananya Muralidharan in the U-19 semifinal, tried hard to disrupt Syndrela’s rhythm. But the Kolkata paddler’s trademark backhand winners proved decisive. Earlier, Syndrela had accounted for Ananya in the youth girls’ final.