PANAJI: Goa’s star paddler Anshuman Agarwal is poised for a double crown as he entered the finals in both the Junior (U17 & U19) singles categories. The Margao-based player, the national ranking bronze-medallist, set up a title clash with Azriel Fernandes in Under-17 category and will meet Khushal Naik in the U-19 category, at the ongoing State Ranking Table Tennis Tournament organised by Goa Table Tennis Association in collaboration with the Sports Authority of Goa (SAG).
The tournament being played at the Multipurpose stadium, Peddem-Mapusa, is one of the Selection tournaments for the upcoming TTFI Nationals which are scheduled for later this year.
Following are the results: Quarter-Finals – Junior boys (U17) Anshuman Agarwal bt Rishan Sheikh 3 -0 (11-3, 11-3, 11-4); Aaron Farias bt Siddhant Parsekar (walkover); Akshan Lawande bt Atharva Dhulapkar 3-0 (13-11, 11-8, 13-11); Azriel Fernandes bt Khushal Naik 3 -1 (11-9, 11-9, 7-11, 12-10). Junior Boys (U19) – Anshuman Agarwal bt Saket Kapileshwari (walkover); Azriel Fernandes bt Nathan Barua 3 -0 (11-7, 11-7, 11-6); Khushal Naik bt Rishan Sheikh 3-0 (11-4, 11-6, 11-5); Akshan Lawande bt Aaron Farias 3-1 (11-9, 11-7, 9-11, 11-9).
Semi-Finals – Junior boys (U17) Anshuman Agarwal bt Aaron Farias 3 -0 (11-7, 11-7, 11-6); Azriel Fernandes bt Akshan Lawande 3-1 (8-11, 11-4, 11-4, 11-7). Junior boys U19 – Anshuman Agarwal bt Azriel Fernandes 3 -1 (9-11, 11-4, 11-6, 11-9); Khushal Naik bt Akshan Lawande 3-0 (11-9, 12-10, 11-9).
