Junior paddlers shine in Junior and Cadet ch`ship

New Delhi: Moumita Das emerged champion in Cadet Girls` singles as India claimed all but one title at the ITTF El Salvador Junior and Cadet Open table tennis championships.

Like at Guatemala championships last week, the only title that eluded the Indians was the Cadet Boys? singles crown. The surprise finalist Arjun Ghosh won silver medal after going down 1-3 (11-8, 13-15, 8-11, 12-14) to No. 2 seed Kwan Man Ho from Hong Kong in the Cadet Boys final. Though the unseeded Ghosh kept himself in the reckoning with his fine returns and excellent defence, the Mexican proved a notch better than the Indian. At Guatemala, Birdie Boro had lost the Cadet Boys final to Cuban Livan Martinez but this time he had bowed out to the eventual winner, in the semi-finals 7-11, 11-13, 9-11. In Cadet Girls` singles Moumita, a player with no world ranking, accounted for Spain?s Zhang Xuan, the No.2 seed, by the very narrowest of margins in a five-game final duel (11-7, 11-9, 8-11, 11-13, 11-9). Moumita had beaten compatriot and top seed Sagarika Mukherjee in five games (11-6, 9-11, 9-11, 14-12, 11-5) in the semifinals. India also clinched Cadet Boys? Doubles and Cadet Girls? Doubles gold medals. PTI