A memorable Sunday for two Hyderabadis

Paddler Fidel R. Snehit and shuttler Pullela Gayathri win nationals

Paddler Fidel R. Snehit and shuttler Pullela Gayathri, both Hyderabadis, had a memorable Sunday setting a record of sorts—the former by winning the national ranking junior boys title (the first from Telangana) and the latter winning her maiden under-19 title in her very first appearance in Chandigarh.

Fourteen-year-old Gayathri, daughter of Gopi Chand and two-time national champion P. Lakshmi, seems to have stepped into a different league.

Fresh from her recent pre-quarterfinal appearance in the Junior World Championship (under-19), unseeded Gayathri, playing her maiden under-19 domestic event, clinched it in style defeating top-seed Poorav Barve of Maharashtra in the final on Sunday.

“Clearly, her range of strokes packed with a lot of deception, and her ability to stay cool under pressure will take her a long way,” feels coach N. Anil Kumar, who has been travelling with the young champion who has already won three national-ranking under-17 titles, besides many titles in the under-13 category.

“We have been preparing really well for the under-19 group though we don’t want to push things too far. Fortunately, she is blessed with natural talent and her next big target is the junior national in Guwahati next month,” says the proud coach.

On the other hand, 17-year-old Snehit is no stranger when it comes to scripting some of the most impressive wins. Coming from a two-table Global Table Tennis Academy at Anandnagar Colony, he is one young talent clearly making waves in the table tennis circuit.

Snehit, representing Airports Authority of India, was, in a way, third time lucky when he got the better of his nemesis Manav Thakkar in the National Ranking Championship (West) in Thane on Sunday.

“Snehit did extremely well. Full marks to him for implementing the game plan with precision. It was Snehit’s day,” said former national champion S. Raman, who is training the young Hyderabadi at his High Performance Table Tennis Academy in Chennai now.

For his part, Snehit was elated and said beating Manav was special. Some of Snehit’s big feats include a gold and two silver in Jordan Open, a gold and silver in Slovenia Open and a silver in the Indian Open. Telangana State Table Tennis Association President Narasimha Reddy and Secretary Prakash Raju hailed Snehit for scripting a success story.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderababd / by V.V.Subrahmanyam / Hyderabad – November 19th, 2017

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