IMT Ghaziabad Sports Committee

Semi Final 1:

A2 (II) vs B3 (I)
Match 1: Vishal Mehra A2 (II) vs Suresh Hari B3 (I)
11-8, 11- 7, 4- 11, 11- 6

Vishal and Hari started of the proceedings of the final day of the tournament. Vishal
being his usual calm and composed game, waited for his opponent to make mistakes
and was suitably rewarded. He wrapped up the first two sets quite comfortably. But
Suresh had other plans for the third set and ran away with the set in no time. Vishal
responded to the wake up call and won the fourth set to wrap up the match.

Match 2: Manish Puri A2 (II) vs Sushant B3 (I)
11-4, 11-7, 11-7
Sushant tried to hit every shot hard and ws made to pay-Manish wrapped up the first
set in no time. Sushant then played consistently and led 4-2 in the second set. Manish
then attacked more in the set and came back 5-5. Then on, Manish hit a flurry of good
shots and finshed the set 11-7. Final set saw the same story with Sushant making a lot
of errors and Manish had no problems nailing the match.

Match 3: Ramesh Mathpal A2 (II) vs Prateek B3 (I)
11-9, 8-11, 4-11, 9-11
Prateek raced to a 7-4 lead in the first set. Ramesh responded and levelled it at 9-9
with a good shot. Prateek hit out a shot and then netted to gift Ramesh the first set.
Ramesh was aggressive in the second set and was 4-4 in the second set. Prateek on the
other hand was more consistent and tried to hold his shots, which earned him the
second set. It was the same story in the third and Prateek totally dominated. Final set
was tighter with both players attacking and running level till 8-8. Ramesh hit two
shots out and Prateek pounced on with a great backhand to seal the match.

Match 4: Uma A2 (II) vs Rekha B3 (I)
11-3, 11-4, 11-6
Not much to write about this one as Uma continued on her unbeaten streak and
literally ‘played’ with her opponent. Uma wrapped up the one sided affair to send
A2(II) to the finals of Ping Pong.

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Semi Final 2:

A1 (I) vs B3 (II)
Match 1: Kaushik A1 (I)) vs Sahil B3 (II)
9-11, 11-6, 14-12, 9-11, 13-11
As the scoreline suggests, this was a hard fought match, with both players being the
crowd favourites. Sahil being his aggressive self, hit some blazing shots to run away
with the first set, despite Kaushik’s efforts to come back. Sahil led 4-2 in the second,
but Kaushik held his nerves to force errors from Sahil. Sahil netted two straight serves
and hit another one out and trailed 6-7. Kaushik hit a glorious backhand Sahil hit out
again to concede the second set to Kaushik. Third set was one of the most aggressive
ones in the tournament. Both players hit shot after shot and three errors from Sahil
meant Kaushik took the third set. Sahil corrected his approach in the fourth set and
played safer, and took the fourth set relatively comfortably. Final set started off with a
great shot from Sahil and Kaushik both. But Sahil netted a few times to give Kaushik
a 1-5 lead. Kaushik hit a few out to let Sahil come back at 5-6. Sahil followed it up
with a good serve to lead 7-6. Kaushik responded with a blazing shot to level it 7-7. It
was neck and neck till the two deuces. A good shot from Kaushik saved a match
point. Sahil then netted and it was match point for Kaushik. Kaushik hit a superb shot
to force an out from Sahil and sealed the match.

Match 2: Lovneesh A1 (I) vs Apurv B3 (II)
5-11, 11-13, 10-12
Lovneesh started off with some rash shots and Apurv was able to win the set
comfortably. The second set was well fought with both players putting up some good
shots. Both players were in their elements and it took a mistake from Lovneesh to
hand Apurv the second set. Lovneesh served well in the second set and took the game
to Apurv and he responded in kind. Apurv hit a good shot to win the match in straight

Match 3: Alok A1 (I) vs Ashish B3 (II)
11-4, 11-8, 11-8
The third match had an unexpected start with the dependable Alok netting and hitting
out, giving Ashish a 4-0 lead. Then Ashish did some mishits and let Alok come back.
Alok then played his natural game and from then on it was an easy ride for him. The
consistent Alok played his natural game and feasted on his opponent’s mistakes to
take the match quite comfortably.

Match 4: Divya A1 (I) vs Richa B3 (II)
4-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9, 7-11
The first ladies’ match which was competitive. Divya hit out a few and netted one to
suddenly find herself trailing at 1-6. Richa took the first set easily. Second set saw
Divya finding her form and eventually won it. Richa got some good picks and landed
some tough shots on the table to take the third set. The see-saw continued and Divya
won five straight points in the fourth set and won it. The final set saw some great
rallies but Richa kept her nerves to take the set and force the semi finals into the

Match 5: Alok/ Lovneesh A1 (I) vs Sahil/ Apurv B3 (II)
11-9, 11-4, 9-11, 8-11, 11-8
The semi final reached its climax with the deciding men’s doubles. B3 won the first
point with the ball popping off the net. B3 took an early 7-2 lead, but some mistakes
and consistent play from A1 saw them leading 8-7. They carried on with the
momentum to take the set. Apurv made a lot of mistakes in the second set and A1
easily took this set. B3 then played calmly and both teams were running neck and
neck till 7-7. At this point, the crowd hooting and comments went a little too far and
both sections were involved in a heated argument. It took some time for the Sports
Committee members and others to calm the situation down. The match resumed and
B3 rode on their momentum to take the third set. B3 took an early lead in the fourth.
A great shot from Sahil saw them at 8-5. Alok netted to give their opponents the
fourth set. In the final set, Alok got his act together and guided his team-mate to play
calmly and consistently. It was a contrasting style of play as B3 took an aggressive
style of play while A1 played the waiting game. Sahil hit one out, but redeemed
himself by hitting a stunner and it was level at 8-8. Apurv then hit 2 out to give A1 a
match point. A good shot from Alok forced Apurv to net and A1 won the nail biting
match and proceeded to the finals.

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THE FINALS: A2 (II) vs A1 (I)
The third tournament of League of Titans ensured an end to the marketing dominance.
It was finance battle all through, with the seniors wanting to show their superiority
and the juniors hungry to prove themselves. Read on…

Match 1: Vishal Mehra A2(II) vs Alok A1 (I)
9-11, 11-9, 4-11, 15-13, 11-6
The starting match of the finals was a battle of “Mr. Consistents”. Both players like
to play a waiting game and let their opponents make a mistake. This meant there were
a lot of long rallies and excellent points and picks. Vishal won the first point of the
finals as Alok hit one out. Vishal was lucky from the net as a two of his shots popped
from the net and it was 3-3. Vishal tried to hit a hard shot and netted to trail 3-6. Then
two wrong serves from Alok saw him trailing 7-9. Alok was consistent from there and
a net and two outs from Vishal allowed Alok to take the first set. Vishal controlled his
hitting instincts in the second set and played his natural game. Two net touches helped
him take an early lead and he ran away with the second set. Alok was rattled with the
loss of the second set and did not make a mistake in the third set. Some great returns
from Alok forced Vishal to net and hit out and Alok took the third one. Fourth set
was played long and hard. Alok made a lot of mistakes while Vishal was aggressive.
It was set point for Vishal at 11-10, when Alok hit his first smash of the game. Vishal
came back and an awesome point saw Vishal take the set. Alok started losing his
rhythm with a wron serve and few errors. Vishal took the opportunity and never really
made a mistake. He sealed the match with a great backhand.

Match 2: Manish Puri A2 (II) vs Kaushik A1 (I)
11-7, 11-6, 11-7
The second match was between the stars of the semi finals. Manish, one of the most
aggressive players of the tournament, opened the scoring with a blazing shot. Kaushik
tried to keep it a close fight with a few good shots, but Manish was unperturbed and
took the first set. Manish attacked in the second set and took an early lead. Kaushik
never really came back and lost this set too. Third set continued the same story.
Kaushik played with heart but Manish’s game and shots proved too much for him in

Match 3: Ramesh Mathpal A2 (II) vs Lovneesh A1 (I)
5-11, 11-6, 12-10, 11-7
Lovneesh started off well and raced to an 8-4 lead. Ramesh could never settle in the
first set and Lovneesh packed up the first set 11-5. Ramesh played like a man
possessed from then on, which took Lovneesh by surprise. Before one could realise,
Ramesh wrapped up the second set. Lovneesh got hold of his nerves and gave tough
competition to Ramesh in the third set. A great rally by both players at 5-5 made the
crowd go wild. Ramesh hit some good shots and one brushed the table leaving
Lovneesh helpless. It took two deuces and a net from Lovneesh for Ramesh to take
the third set. Manish rode on the momentum and crowd support to take an early lead
of 7-3 in the fourth set. Lovneesh tried to come back but Ramesh was determined to
seal the championship in this set only. Lovneesh saved one championship point but
Ramesh won the next one to win the set, match and tournament for the A2 (II) team.
It was a well-deserved win for the A2 (II) team who proved their mettle in each and
every match and despite a tough draw, they took out strong opponents in each round.
It was a tournament played in high spirit, with tremendous crowd support and respect
for the opponents. Congratulations to the runners-up A1 (I) team for putting up a great
show and the eventual winners-the A2 (II) team!!!