London: Young Soumyajit Ghosh's maiden appearance at the Olympics proved to be a memorable one as he advanced to the second round of the table tennis event after Ankita Das bowed out in the London Games, here on Saturday.
The 19-year-old Ghosh prevailed over Brazil's Gustavo Tsuboi 11-9 14-12 7-11 12-10 5-11 12-0 (4-2) in a closely contested men's singles first round match.
There was however disappointment in store in the women's section as Ankita lost 1-4 to Spain's Sara Ramirez at the ExCel centre here.
Siligury boy Ghosh then took it upon himself to make up for Ankita's loss with a composed showing, which belied his age and experience.
After taking an early advantage by winning the first two games, Ghosh let slip the advantage by suffering a reverse in the third, only to bounce back in the fourth game.
The 27-year-old Brazilian staged a comeback of sorts by taking the fifth game, but Ghosh ensured his passage into the next round by winning the sixth and the penultimate game, much to the joy of the Indian fans present at the venue.
Earlier, India's challenge in women's section ended in the first round itself as Ankita crashed out.
The 19-year-old Indian, who was playing in her first ever Games, fought valiantly to stage a comeback in the fourth game, but that did not prove enough as the Spaniard rallied back to clinch the fifth game and the match in just 29 minutes.
Ankita looked totally out of sorts against a much higher ranked Sara (83) as she gave away some easy points and could not hold on to her serve on occasions.
The Siliguri girl, who booked her Olympic berth through a South Asian quota place earlier this year, however showed patches of brilliance as she tried her best to stay alive in the tournament.
Backhand has been Ankita's weak point and whenever Ramirez played there, the youngster was all at sea. She is also not known for her mobility and lack of feet movement also led to her downfall.
The 24-year-old Spaniard, though, did not allow Ankita any chance to launch an offensive as she won the first three games 11-9 11-8 11-7 in just 19 minutes.
Ankita kept the Indian hopes alive winning the fourth game 11-8, but her abject surrender in the fifth and decisive game (11-2) proved fatal for her chances.
Ankita had earlier got a bye in the preliminary round.
Comments
0 comment