CHENNAI: It was not the start young paddler Yashaswini Ghorpade wanted even as her team Karnataka began its campaign on a winning note against Uttar Pradesh at the 36th edition of the National Games in Surat, Gujarat on Tuesday. In Karnataka's 3-2 win, 18-year-old Yashaswini suffered both losses.
Next up in the women's team event of Group B were favourites West Bengal. Karnataka lost the first tie with Tokyo Olympian Suthirtha Mukherjee beating Khushi Viswanath 11-4, 11-4, 11-2. Yashaswini too lost to the experienced Ayhika Mukherjee to take Bengal closer to victory.
Maria Rony then registered a comeback win over veteran Mouma Das thus bringing the focus back on Yashaswini, who was scheduled to meet Suthirtha. She lost two of the first three games but rallied back to beat her more illustrious opponent.
The two rounds of the women's table tennis team event at Pt Deendayal Upadhyaya Indoor Stadium are apt enough to define the short but eventful journey of Yashaswini. Despite winning matches at the state-level events, the success couldn't translate itself at the national level in the initial years.
There was a time when she even decided to quit the sport. However, her parents — Geeta and Deepak Ghorpade — along with coach Anshuman Roy made sure she hang around.
"Initially, things were not falling in place but my coach kept pushing me. He motivated me to work hard. My parents also supported me a lot to ride out of the storm," the paddler told this daily.
Fitness was the big issue and Roy asked her to work with VR Beedu, the Dronacharya award-winning athletics coach. "It was around 2018 when I trained there. My coach spoke to Beedu sir and they decided to focus on my agility," she added.
The move paid off as Yashaswini started getting desired results. The improved show meant her trophy cabinet started filling up with the most recent achievement coming at the Asian Junior and Cadet Championships in Laos earlier this month. She achieved twin feats at the event by becoming the first Indian woman to pocket a U-19 singles bronze and then clinching U-19 mixed doubles gold with Payas Jain.
Given all successes in the last couple of years, the paddler's immediate goal is to break into the senior side. And the ongoing National Games seem to be a perfect platform for her to push her case.
Speaking on the Games, happening after a gap of seven years, Yashaswini said, "It feels like any international event with quality infrastructure in place."
She also admitted it's difficult to switch to the domestic circuit after featuring in the international event. "I guess it's a little bit tough as paddlers are used to me against whom I will be playing. So I have to put in more effort than the international events."
She also talked about the two back-to-back losses she suffered against Uttar Pradesh and how she managed to stage a comeback against Suthirtha. "Against UP players, I guess I was in a rush to finish rallies. Against Sutirtha didi, I kept my patience. I just focussed on that match and didn't think about the previous losses. It helped me a lot," she said.
The slow start, notwithstanding, Yashaswini went on to win two matches against Tamil Nadu in the third round but her teammates couldn't match her performance as Karnataka lost 2-3 to make an exit from the women's team event.
TN women enter medal round
With the 3-2 win, Tamil Nadu women sealed their place in the medal round. Delhi’s men, too, thumped Haryana 3-0 to ensure a medal for them in Group A after Gujarat kept a clean slate to become the group topper.
The credit for putting the TN team in the semifinals goes to CR Harshavardhini, who trailed 0-2 before overcoming Kushi Viswanath in the deciding rubber after Yashaswini Ghorphade gave Karnataka a semblance of chance in the medal round. But Harshavardini brushed aside the imminent threat to script what was a fantastic win for the Tamil Nadu girls.
Delhi men were, more or less, sailing in the same boat, having to beat Haryana for their second-stage entry. And they did with precision as Sudhanshu Grover, Payas Jain and Yashansh Malik posted wins over their rivals.