CHENNAI: G Sathiyan of PSPB completed a rare hat-trick of inter-institutional titles after beating PSPB’s Harmeet Desai 4-3 in the men’s singles final at Bharathiar University in Coimbatore on Tuesday. He had won in 2016 and 2017. Playing in his first domestic tournament of the new season, the 25-year-old had to dig deep to get the better of compatriot and fellow member of the Asian Games squad. Sathiyan was 3-1 up at one point but Harmeet levelled at 3-3 before going down 3-4.
The win fetched him `80,000 while the runners-up got half the amount. Monday had witnessed an exodus of top seeds from the competition. Only two India top-10 players were left after the quarterfinals had finished. Both Sathiyan and Harmeet are not in that bracket because of their international commitments. With the entire Asian Games contingent set to leave for a training camp in China on Wednesday, it was the perfect way for Sathiyan to gear up for the quadrennial competition.
“There is no better feeling than winning. That feeling cannot be replaced whether it be a national or international title. Harmeet was in good form and the win shows my preparation level. I’m also grateful to my personal coach S Raman sir for always motivating me,” the World No 39 said. Incidentally, this was his fourth inter-institutional title. He won his first in 2014.
Regarding the camp, Sathiyan seemed upbeat and felt that it was the perfect way to get in shape for the Asiad. “China is obviously the strongest team in the continent. We will get time to practise at one of the best facilities in the world. We will face their second team while we’re there. Also, due to playing so many events in a year, we rarely get time to train together.
This will prove to be extremely beneficial,” he added. Doubles titles for Archana PSPB’s Archana Girish Kamath bagged gold in women’s doubles and mixed doubles categories. In women’s doubles, she partnered the experienced Mouma Das to beat AAI’s Ayhika Mukherjee and Priyadarsini Das 3-2. Earlier, she had combined with Manav Thakkar to beat the Sanil Shetty and Reeth Rishya pair 3-2 in mixed doubles.