Sagarika loses crown, but wins hearts

MUMBAI: The curtains came down on the 2013 Reliance India Junior and Cadet Open Table Tennis Championship at the NSCI, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium and in the limelight were second-seeded Sudhanshu Grover of India and China's Yanmei Yang, who fashioned contrasting wins to be crowned champions in the Junior Boys and Girls categories, respectively.
Despite losing the Junior Girl's final, Sagarika Mukherjee played the game of her life, keeping everyone glued to their seats. With the Cadet Girl's title already under her belt, the gritty 15-year-old from Siliguri went about slaying the Chinese dragon, before ultimately losing to Yanmei by a hair's breadth.
Having lost the first three games, the sub-junior champion devised a sensational comeback to equalize. She enjoyed a 7-5 and 9-7 lead in the decider, but a composed Yanmei proved unstoppable in the end.
If she was disappointed she hid it well, standing on the podium, smiling for the cameras.
"This is the best moment of my life. I have never had a stadium-full of people screaming my name and cheering for me. It would have been best if I had won, but this is great too," said Sagarika, who last remembers such enthusiasm from the crowd in Guatemala, where she played World Ranking players and won five gold, two silver and one bronze.
"My concentration was waning from time to time as I tried to read her game. One odd point can make or break it and that's what happened."
Ask her if she was exhausted with the week-long matches and pat comes the reply from the SAFF champion, "I don't get tired. I go all the way."
"I won the Cadet and that is something to be proud of," she adds holding the trophy and her prize-money (Rs 22,000) with which she plans to buy a camera and something for her parents. "I haven't been home for over two months. I missed the Durga Puja. But this is my devotion and it paid off."
"Also, I got to see Mannat. Of course, I did not trace Shah Rukh khan there, but it was special," she says.
On her way to Siliguri for the zonals that start on the 24th of the month, Sagarika says she aims to work on her mistakes. She also wants to maintain a balance between the game and academia.
"I hope to better my game and get a scholarship to the academy in Sweden. India can only hope to shine at the Olympics if we get world-class facilities," said Sagarika, who currently earns a stipend of Rs.13000 from Indian Oil.
Results: Junior boys final: 2-Sudhanshu Grover bt 1-Abhishek Yadav 11-2, 16-14, 12-10, 4-11, 11-7; Doubles final: Sameera Kumar/Rohit Rajasekhar bt Abhishek Yadav/Sudhanshu Grover 15-13, 11-6, 11-7.Junior girls final: Yanmei Yang (CHN) bt Sagarika Mukherjee 11-6, 11-2, 11-4, 14-16, 9-11, 5-11, 12-10. Doubles final: Suthirtha Mukherjee/Ayhika Mukherjee bt Manika Batra/Reeth Tennison 11-5, 10-12, 12-10, 11-3.
Cadet boys final: Birdie Boro bt Arjun Ghosh 11-8, 11-6, 16-14.
Doubles final: Arjun Ghosh/Ayush Tayal bt Anirban Ghosh/Birdie Boro 11-8, 4-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-9.
Cadet girls final: Sagarika Mukherjee bt Sreeja Akula 13-11, 11-13, 11-8, 17-19, 11-9.
Doubles final: Sreeja Akula/Harshavardhini Calange bt Shruti Amrute/Naina Jaiswal 12-10, 11-8, 11-4.