Kalpak to play Yash for junior crown

NAGPUR: Top seed Kalpak Bansod will face the challenge of seed No 2 Yash Dhote in junior boy's final in the Sudhir Shrivastava Memorial Shruti Club Open Ranking Table Tennis tournament currently in progress at the Dr Ambedkar College Sports Academy hall.
The five-day ranking tournament is being organized by Nagpur District Table Tennis Association (NDTTA).
In the last four stage of the junior category, played late on Wednesday evening, both the seeded paddlers registered victories in contrasting fashion.
The first semifinal saw a relatively easy outing for Kalpak who made light work of unseeded Rishabh Vyas 4-1. After winning three games on the trot 11-3, 11-8, 11-9, Kalpak lost the momentum as Rishabh made most of the opportunity to clinch the fourth game 11-9. Kalpak, however, regained the momentum to win the fifth game 11-9 and qualified for the final in style.
For the second seed Yash Dhote it was a victory in straight games against seed No 3 Rutwik Gupte in the other semifinal. The higher ranked paddler was, however, forced to earn his points in the exciting contest. The game-wise progress in the favour of Yash read 18-16, 12-10, 11-7 and 11-8.
The summit clash between Kalpak and Yash will be played on Thursday evening.