123Pune.com

A perfect day for India, that was the scenario on Wednesday 15th October 2008 in the table tennis events at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Pune; each country is allowed to field two players in the singles events and two pairs in the doubles.

At the close of play on the third day, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Soumyajit Ghosh had booked their places in the semi-finals of the Boys� Singles event, whilst in the Girls� Singles, Neha Aggarwal and Soumi Mondal had emulated their male counterparts.

Good news in the singles and even better news in the doubles where India clinched the first medals to be decided, in both Boys' and Girls' Doubles, they won gold and silver.

Doubles
In the Boys� Doubles final Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Soumyajit Ghosh beat Raj Mondal and Shubham Sharma, whilst in the Girls� Doubles, Neha Aggarwal and Soumi Mondal overcame the partnership of Divya Deshpande and Pooja Sahasrabudhe.

Quarter-Finals
At the quarter-final stage in the Boys� Singles event, Sathiyan Gananasekaran beat Sri Lanka�s Shahanaka Ganegodage, whilst Soumyajit Ghosh over came England�s Gavin Evans, the no.3 seed.

A defeat for England at Indian hands and it was the same in the Girls� Singles where Neha Aggarwal accounted for Karina Le Fevre, whilst for Soumi Mondal it was Malaysian opposition that incurred her wrath. She beat Kueh Wan May.

Back to Form Australian
At the semi-final stage Sathiyan Gnanasekaran meets top seed Canada�s Shen Qiang, who accounted for Australia�s David Powell in the quarter-finals, whilst Soumyajit Ghosh plays David Powell�s compatriot, Robbie Frank.

The Australian, having suffered a somewhat unexpected defeat in the group stage against Tzen Chin of Malaysia, was back to his best. He beat Singapore�s highly rated Peng Xue Jie in seven games.

Singapore Next Test
Meanwhile in the Girls� Singles semi-finals it is Singaporean opposition for both Indians. Neha Aggarwal faces Isabelle Li, whilst Soumi Mondal confronts Zena Sim.

In the quarter-finals, Isabelle Li defeated Guyana�s Trenace Lowe whilst Zena Sim ended the progress of Nigeria�s Ganiyat olatunde.

Impressive Performances
Impressive performances in the singles by the Indian teenagers and there were also impressive performances in the doubles where the respective first and second seeds suffered at Indian hands.

Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Soumyajit Ghosh defeated Singapore�s Pang Xue Jie and Darren Chong in the quarter-finals and top seeds Canada�s Yang Ling Kun and Shen Qiang in the semi-finals. In similar vein, Raj Mondal and Shubham Sharma overcame South Africa�s Kurt Lingeveldt and Cody Meyer in the round of the last eight pairs before recording a penultimate round victory over the second seeded English pairing of Gavin Evans and Liam Pitchford.

Same Scenario
Neither Indian partnership was extended the full distance and it was the same for the girls; both pairs recorded straight games quarter-final and semi-final wins.

Neha Aggarwal and Soumi Mondal accounted for Australia�s Lily Phan and Melissa Tapper in the quarter-finals before beating England�s Karina Le Fevre and Natalie Slater in the semi-finals, whilst Divya Deshpande and Pooja Sahasrabudhe progressed in similar style.

In the quarter-finals they beat Malaysia�s Kuen Wan May and Gam Paik Ping before recording a penultimate round victory against second seeds, Singapore�s Isabelle Li and Zena Sim.

A fine display by the Indians, very impressive, very impressive indeed.

Boys' Singles Quarter-Finals
SHEN Qiang [CAN] bt POWELL David [AUS] 4 - 2 (11-6, 11-3, 9-11, 12-10, 5-11, 11-7); GNANASEKARAN Sathiyan [IND] bt GANEGODAGE Sahanaka Randula [SRI] 4 � 1 (11-3, 13-15, 11-5, 11-8, 11-6); GHOSH Soumyajit [IND]bt EVANS Gavin Thomas [ENG] 4 - 3 (11-6, 8-11, 9-11, 9-11, 12-10, 11-2, 11-7); FRANK Robert [AUS] bt PANG Xue Jie [SIN] 4 - 3 (11-9, 12-10, 7-11, 10-12, 11-8, 9-11, 11-9)

Girls' Singles- Quarter Finals
AGGARWAL Neha [IND] bt LE FEVRE Karina [ENG] 4 - 0 (11-8, 11-7, 11-4, 11-7); LI Isabelle Siyun [SIN] bt LOWE Trenace Althea [GUY] 4 � 0 (11-1, 11-1, 11-5, 11-6); SIM Kai Xin Zena [SIN] bt OLATUNDE Ganiyat [NGR] 4 � 0 (11-5, 11-1, 11-3, 11-4); MONDAL Soumi [IND] bt KUEH Wan May [MAS] 4 � 2 (8-11, 11-2, 11-4, 11-4, 11-13, 11-3)

Boys' Doubles Quarter-Finals
YANG Ling Kun/SHEN Qiang [CAN] bt ONAOLAPO Ojo/OLAYIWOLA Mojeed Olawale [NGR] 3-2 (10-12, 11-9, 11-9, 9-11, 11-5); GNANASEKARAN Sathiyan/GHOSH Soumyajit [IND] bt PANG Xue Jie/CHONG Hur Ying Darren [SIN] 3-1 (7-11, 11-5, 16-14, 11-3); MONDAL Raj/SHARMA Shubham [IND] bt LINGEVELDT Kurt John/MEYER Cody Mathew [RSA] 3-0 (11-7, 11-9, 11-9); PITCHFORD Liam Benjamin/EVANS Gavin Thomas [ENG] bt FRANK Robert/POWELL David [AUS] 3-1 (7-11, 11-6, 11-3, 11-9)

Boys' Doubles Semi Finals
GNANASEKARAN Sathiyan/GHOSH Soumyajit [IND] bt YANG Ling Kun/SHEN Qiang [CAN] 3-1 (9-11, 11- 12-10, 11-4); MONDAL Raj/SHARMA Shubham [IND] PITCHFORD Liam Benjamin/EVANS Gavin Thomas [ENG] 3-1 (11-8, 16-14, 4-11, 11-2)

Boys' Doubles Final
GNANASEKARAN Sathiyan/GHOSH Soumyajit [IND] bt MONDAL Raj/SHARMA Shubham [IND] 3-0 (11-4, 11-5, 11-8)

Girls' Doubles Quarter-Finals
AGGARWAL Neha/MONDAL Soumi [IND] bt PHAN Lily Chi/TAPPER Melissa [AUS] 3-0 (11-6, 11-4, 11-7); LE FEVRE Karina/SLATER Natalie [ENG] bt OLATUNDE Ganiyat/EFFIOM Janet [NGR] 3-1 (11-9, 14-12, -11, 11-9); SAHASRABUDHE Pooja Vijay/DESHPANDE Divya Chandrashekhar [IND] bt KUEH Wan May/GAM Gaik Ping [MAS] 3-0 (11-4, 11-5, 11-5); LI Isabelle Siyun/SIM Kai Xin Zena [SIN] bt HSIEN Peggy Pei Yi/LAVOIE Emmanuelle [CAN] 3-0 (11-2, 11-6, 11-9)

Girls' Doubles Semi Finals
AGGARWAL Neha/MONDAL Soumi [IND] bt LE FEVRE Karina/SLATER Natalie [ENG] 3-1 (9-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-9); SAHASRABUDHE Pooja Vijay/DESHPANDE Divya Chandrashekhar [IND] bt LI Isabelle Siyun/SIM Kai Xin Zena [SIN] 3-2 (8-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-3, 11-8)

Girls' Doubles Final
AGGARWAL Neha/MONDAL Soumi [IND] bt SAHASRABUDHE Pooja Vijay/DESHPANDE Divya Chandrashekhar [IND] 3-2 (7-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-9)
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