Shauren Soman wins under-17 and under-19 titles at Pune district ranking table tennis

Shauren Soman won a double at the fifth district ranking table tennis tournament, organised by the Pune District Table Tennis Association at Symbiosis School on Prabhat Road. The event, held as the Baluf Automation Trophy and the Dr Satish Thigale Memorial tournament, saw him win both the under-17 and under-19 boys' categories. Shagun Ganeshe, Diya Shinde and Rohinton Todiwala also became champions in their respective categories.

In the under-17 boys' final, sixth seed Shauren Soman beat fourth seed Sharang Gawali 13-11, 11-4, 11-6 in straight games. In the semi-finals he had defeated second seed Anuj Phulsundar 11-7, 11-7, 8-11, 11-8. In the other semi-final, Sharang Gawali beat Vardaan Kolte 11-6, 11-8, 11-8.

In the under-17 girls' category, top seed Diya Shinde won the title after a tough final against Ahana Godbole, winning 11-9, 10-12, 9-11, 11-8, 11-8. In the semi-finals, Diya beat Spruha Borgaonkar 11-5, 11-3, 11-3. Ahana Godbole had reached the final by beating Medha Kotra 8-11, 11-7, 15-17, 11-9, 11-7. Diya Shinde is a Class 9 student at New English School and trains at the Sharada Toss Table Tennis Academy under coaches Dipesh Abhyankar and Makarand Sane.

The under-19 boys' final went to seven games. Fourth seed Shauren Soman beat third seed Nishad Lele 9-11, 11-8, 10-12, 11-5, 6-11, 13-11, 11-9 to win his second title. In the semi-finals, Shauren beat top seed Anuj Phulsundar 11-8, 11-7, 11-5, while in the other semi-final Nishad Lele beat Swarup Bhadalkar 11-7, 11-5, 11-7. Shauren Soman is a first-year ECS student at MIT-WPU and trains at the AIMS Academy under coach Neeraj Honap.

In the under-11 girls' category, top seed Shagun Ganeshe beat second seed Sharanya Patwardhan 5-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-7 to take the title. In the semi-finals, Shagun beat Advaiti Patil 11-4, 11-9, 11-6, and Sharanya Patwardhan beat Myra Sharma 11-2, 12-10, 11-6. Shagun Ganeshe is a Class 5 student at Mount Litera School and trains at the Champions Table Tennis Academy under coach Tehseen Ansari.

In the veterans' category for those above 60, top seed Rohinton Todiwala beat Pradeep Gupta 11-7, 5-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-9 to win the title. In the semi-finals, Rohinton beat Ravindra Kulkarni 13-15, 11-5, 11-4, 6-11, 11-7, while Pradeep Gupta beat Harish Salvi 5-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-8, 11-6.