Pune, Jan 13: India junior number three Anushri Shah of Bengal played the match of her life when she defeated seasoned N Arul Selvi of Tamil Nadu in the opening round of the Women's Singles in the 64th senior National Table Tennis Championship here today. The 15-year-old Anushri from the Centre of excellence Bengal, down three-nil and trailing 3-6 in the fourth game, bounced back in style to shock Arul Selvi 9-11 7-11 5-11 11-9 11-7 11-6 11-4. "I had almost given up but the prompting from senior players Poulumi Ghatak and Mouma Das helped me gain confidence to turn the tables on my rival", Anushri, who is making her debut in the senior nationals, said after the match.
Among the other interesting first rounds matches saw Shruti Gokhale, Shipra Gogate and Shalmali Mhatre notching well-deserved victories over their respective rivals.

In the men's section, Maharashtra's Rohit Choudhury, spurred by the fine showing by the state women players, outclassed Rajiv Ghai of Delhi. Bureau Report