Srinivas wins 80+ singles title, Maharashtra women assert

Pune, 26th April 2026: The paddles are still in motion, and a few finals remain on the schedule, but the spotlight on Day 3 of the 32nd Masters National Table Tennis Championships at the Balewadi Indoor Stadium firmly belonged to Telangana’s Srinivas Chalavadi, who clinched the Men’s 80+ Singles crown with a composed 3-1 victory over Gujarat’s Indresh Purohit on Sunday.

In the same category’s doubles final, Srinivas teamed up with Devendra Nath Deshani to edge past the Maharashtrian duo of Subodh Deshpande and Satish Shirsat 3–2 (11–6, 11–9, 9–11, 12–14, 11–8) in a hard-fought contest.

In what turned out to be a contest of shifting momentum, Indresh drew first blood in a tense opening game, edging it 15-13 after a prolonged battle. However, Srinivas quickly recalibrated, asserting control with measured placement and consistency to wrap up the next three games. The Telangana veteran looked increasingly assured as the match wore on, closing out the fourth game comfortably to seal the title in style.

Srinivas’ path to the final had been far more straightforward. In the semifinals, he brushed aside Madhya Pradesh’s Ramesh Malviya in straight games, barely breaking a sweat in a dominant display. Indresh, on the other hand, had to dig deeper in his semifinal clash against Karnataka’s S. Gopalan. Despite winning in straight games, the Gujarat paddler was pushed in two tightly contested encounters, including a gripping deuce game that tested his resolve.

The women’s events, meanwhile, saw Maharashtra assert its dominance across multiple age categories. Veena Joshi emerged victorious in the combined Women’s 70+, 75+, and 80+ Singles event, overcoming Rajasthan’s Kamlesh Jain in straight games with clinical precision. The fourth player, Chhaya Jhadav, was awarded bronze after she qualified for the knockout stages of the same categories.

In the Women’s 65+ Singles, Rajeshwari Mhetre added another gold for the host state, recovering from a first-game setback to defeat Madhya Pradesh’s Rita Jain 3-1 in a well-contested final.

Perhaps the most riveting contest of the day came in the Women’s 60+ Singles final, where Mantu Murmu of Maharashtra outlasted Rubi Kaur of Madhya Pradesh in a five-game thriller. The match ebbed and flowed, with both players trading momentum, before Mantu held her nerve in the decider to secure the title.

In other team events held last evening, Delhi clinched the Men’s 65+ title with a commanding 3–0 victory over Maharashtra ‘A’ in the final. Maharashtra, which had earlier lost to its ‘A’ side in the semifinals, and Karnataka, defeated by Delhi, settled for bronze medals.

Maharashtra’s 60+ men added to the tally, securing gold with an identical 3–0 win over Tamil Nadu. The bronze medals were claimed by Maharashtra ‘B’ and Gujarat, who went down in closely fought semifinals to Maharashtra (2–3) and Tamil Nadu (1–3), respectively.

Maharashtra’s women continued the dominance, capturing gold in the combined 65+ and 70+ team championships with a comfortable straight-games win over Delhi. Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra’s ‘A’ team, both semi-finalists, took home the bronze medals.

THE RESULTS (TEAM):

Men’s 80+ Singles: Final: Srinivas Chalavadi (Telg) bt Indresh Purohit (Guj) 13-15, 11-6, 11-6, 11-8.

Semifinals: Indresh bt S. Gopalan (Kar) 11-6, 11-9, 14-12; Srinivas bt Ramesh Malviya (MP) 11-7, 11-1, 12-10

Women’s 70+, 75+ & 80 Singles+: Final: Veena Joshi (Mah) bt Kamlesh Jain (Raj) 11-6, 11-8, 11-6.

Women’s 65+ Singles+: Final: Rajeshwari Mhetre (Mah) bt Rita Jain (MP) 10-12, 11-7, 11-9, 11-6.

Semifinals: Rita bt Indu Sharma (Del) 7-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-9; Rajeshwari bt Rohini Marathe (Del) 11-5, 11-8, 11-3.

Women’s 60+ Singles+: Final: Mantu Murmu (Mah) bt Rubi Kaur (MP) 11-9, 9-11, 13-11, 13-15, 11-7.

Semifinals: Mantu bt Manisha Kataria (MP) 11-6, 11-9, 8-11, 12-10; Rubi bt Rashmi Soni (MP) 11-9, 12-10, 11-8.