Host PG Retains Supremacy In 8th All-Parsi TT Tourney
The two-day annual Table-tennis extravaganza, hosted by Parsee Gymkhana (PG) on 11th and 12th February, 2023, concluded with hosts Parsee Gymkhana walking away with Gold in the three main events, in addition to their presence in Jumbled Doubles. Seventy-seven competitors battled it out across six events with players coming even from Surat and Navsari.
The tournament began with 4 youngsters competing in the Under-14 event. Naira Kabraji, the only girl amongst the four, stretched ultimate runner-up Yeshan Kolah to the decider while all other matches ended in straight wins. Yeshan’s elder sibling Jehan ended up winning the Gold medal. In the Veteran singles, Yezdi Bhamgara of Navsari, who represents India at the Para games, stretched PG’s second seed and runner-up Rayomand Marolia to 5 thrilling games. In the Open Doubles event, the husband-wife combo of Zubin-Frenaz bagged the title, beating Nekzaad Kerawalla and Shihan Palkhivala in straight games.
In the Team event there were 14 teams with Parsee Gymkhana, Godrej Baug, newcomers Mahim Association and Navroze Baug fielding 2 teams each. CCI, with its young brigade of Nekzaad Kerawalla, Shihan Palkhivala and Pearl Amalsadiwalla, was expected to give a tough fight to holders Parsee Gymkhana ‘A’ in the semi-finals. However, PG claimed victory in the end.
The Semi-finals surely made match of the day, with MalCamSal (a player each from Malcolm Baug, Cama Park and Salsette Colony) competing with Captain Colony. Sohrab Mehta of Malcolm Baug set the tone with a thrilling five-game upset over Sarosh Shroff. Hormaz Pithawalla lost to Farzan Malesaria and their doubles pair of Hormaz and Nozer Amalsadiwalla lost to Sarosh Shroff and Percy Mehta. Sohrab then salvaged the situation beating Farzan in three straight games. In the decider, old warhorse Percy Mehta had the measure of Nozer, taking Captain Colony to one more finals in the Team event.
The Open singles event, which attracts the maximum number of entries, had 64 players fighting it out in the league stage for 16 slots in the main draw. In the main draw, the most exciting match was in the pre-quarters with Sohrab Mehta of Malcolm Baug beating Cama Park’s Hormazd Pithawalla in five hard fought games. The crowd’s favourite and fun event – Jumbled Doubles comprised 14 new pairs, with Zubin Taraporewalla claiming his fourth title.
Hosts Parsee Gymkhana provided the players with all three meals on both days and handed out free T-shirts. Outstation players were lodged at Gymkhana’s expense. Professional umpires, an international qualified referee and four new pPrecise tables completed the setup. Hoshi Batliwalla, Kyoshi 8th degree Black Belt and renowned Karate instructor, as also Judge and Referee at the Asian Karate-Do, was the Chief Guest. He exhorted the players to play competitively and with dedication. PG presented mementos to Yogesh Desai and Sameer Bhate, for winning Gold at the World Veteran Table-tennis Championships at Oman, last month.
Parsee Gymkhana thanks its sponsors for their support – Zoroastrian Cooperative Bank Ltd, WAPIZ, Rishad Byramjee, Hanoz Patel, Minoo Khan as also Media Partner – Parsi Times.
