Dr. Nitin Toshniwal from Solapur and Sarosh Shroff from Mumbai bagged double Gold medals each, in the Khyaal- TSTTA organized Masters’ Table Tennis Table Tennis tournament for 50+ and 60+ age groups; which concluded at Prabodhankar Thackeray Krida Sankul, Vile Parle, late Sunday evening.
From L to R : Mr. Madhukar Talwalkar, Dr. Nitin Toshniwal, Mr. Sathe, Mr. Vikas Dave ( Khyaal) & Yogesh Desai
While Dr.Nitin Toshniwal besides winning his Men’s 50+ Singles, went on to win the Men’s 50+ doubles crown, partnering Tejas Naik; Sarosh Shroff after winning his Men’s 60+ singles title, bagged his doubles crown with the help of his partner Jogesh Motani. Both Sarosh and Jogesh together also bagged the Runners-up trophy in the Men’s doubles 50+ event.
There were good performances coming from many outstation players, who had participated in this tournament. Thanks to Team Khyaal and Yogesh Desai from TSTTA, who had welcomed them to participate in this tournament, which was open to all those above 50 years. Prominent among the outstation players were: L.V. Thakre from Gujarat, Nizamuddin Taher and RJ Hari Krishna both from Hyderabad.
Nizamuddin Taher, who gave a splendid performance, defeating Naresh Shah and Nitish Kumar convincingly in the pre-quarters and Quarter finals of Men’s 60 + singles respectively, however lost 0-3 to Sarosh Shroff in semi finals. Another dark horse from Hyderabad RJ Hari Krishna who toppled seasoned Master player Percy Mehta 3-2 in the earlier round of main draw, could not find his rhythm against L.V.Thakre in semi finals and lost 0-3 to him.
L.V.Thakre who was runner-up in the Men’s 60+ singles, also showed his skills in the Men’s 50+ event, as he managed to reach quarter finals of the main draw and lost very narrowly to Bhushan Nevgi in a five games well contested match. Bhushan had earlier won another narrowly won battle 3-2 against Jogesh Motani. Another player in Men’s 50+ section Ravindra Ekande, who impressed with his powerful backhand strokes, overcame Nitish Kumar 3-2 in the quarter finals, but couldn’t match with the consistency of Dr. Nitin Toshniwal, who later lifted the Men’s 50+ title.
Kapil Kumar who was runner-up in the Men’s 50+ singles, however lost in quarter finals of Men’s 60+ singles to champ Sarosh Shroff, in a closely contested match of the day.
In the Women’s 50+ Singles, seasoned player N. Sivapriya who regularly plays in Masters TT at national and international level, bagged the Women’s Champion trophy, after she defeated Sukanya Isa from Telangana, in the finals. Winners, Runners- up and semi finalists received cash prizes, besides trophies and certificates.
Yogesh Desai (L) while welcoming the eldest participant Mr. Vinod Dighe(R)
Fitness Icon 93 year young Mr. Madhukar Talwalkar was the chief guest and gave away the prizes to the winners. He grabbed all the attention with his graceful personality and fitness level, as he also tried few strokes during the concluding ceremony. Mr. Talwalkar also offered few valuable tips of fitness to all the participants. Thanks to Mr. Dhananjay Sathe, Vice President ,TSTTA for selecting the right person to be the chief guest. Mr.Talwalkar really inspired one and all, present at the venue. Mr. Arwind Prabhu , CEO , PTKS was the guest of honour during the concluding function.
