Suwal finished the league on pole position on Friday defeating national champion Shiva Sundar Gothe in the last match of the league.[break]
Nabita Shrestha remained undefeated in the tournament and clinched the title after defeating second-seeded Swetcha Nembang in the last match of the category. It was the second defeat of Nembang in the tournament.
The winners in both the categories received cash prize of Rs 15,000 each. The second position holders pursed Rs 8,000 and the third position holders received with Rs 5,000 each.
Gothe had lost a match against Chandan Shahi on Friday and against Deep Saun on Thursday but had a chance to win the title, if he pulled off a victory against Suwal, who had lost only against Purushottam Bajracharya.
In the last match played at the National Table Tennis Training Center, Lainchour, Suwal defeated Gothe 3-1 in sets to become the number one player of Nepal.
Suwal took the first set 11-8 and continued his good run through the second set to win it 11-6. With two sets advantage, Suwal was confident of winning the match. Gothe recovered in the third set and took it by 11-6. However, Suwal attacked in the fourth set and took it by 11-6.
After losing the match and the numero uno position, Gothe said that his offensive mistakes cost him the match and the supreme position. “I was unable to play my own game. I lost my points initially with offensive mistakes and turned towards defensive style but could not resist him,” said Gothe. He had been in the number one position from the fifth National Games held three years ago.
Suwal said that he was delighted to be the number one player of the country. “My moral was high and was confident in winning as I had advantage on him before playing the last match,” said Suwal. “At the start, I played attacking game which made me win the match and later played defensive.”
It was the sixth final match between Suwal and Gothe. Suwal’s victory on Friday equaled their head-to-head record.
Purshottam Bajracharya finished in the third position while veteran player Rajendra Kapali dropped to the fourth place. Deep Saun, who started the tournament from the eighth position, finished in the fifth place.
In the women’s section, Nabita Shrestha beat Swetcha Nembang in three straight sets to defend her numero uno position. Shrestha took the first set 11-5 and the second 11-8. In the third set, Shrestha pulled 11-3 win to seal the match. Nembang had chances to be in the number one position, had she beaten Shrestha. With the defeat Nembang dropped to the third position.
Renuka Khatri, who had started the tournament from the fourth position finished in the second place. Khatri and Nembang had equal 17 wins but Khatri proved to be better in head-to-head. Kajol Rauniyar, who had started the tournament at the 10th position, finished in fourth position and Elina Maharjan dropped to the fifth place.
After winning the trophy, Shrestha said that the last match was much easier than she had expected. “I was confident of winning the last match as Nembang was not able to handle my spin.” She further added that young players could challenge her position in future.
Host All Nepal Table Tennis Association awarded Kajol Rauniyar from Kaski with the Best Female Player of the Tournament Award. In the men’s section, Piyush Awal from Bhaktapur was named the Best Male Player of the Tournament.
Related story
Siddhartha Bank launches Siddhartha Uno Credit Card
