Babboor, Roy move into semis

Top seed Chetan Babboor of Petroleum Sports Control Board and second seed Soumyadeep Roy romped into the men's singles semi-finals in the 31st All India Inter-Institutional Table tennis championships in Calcutta on Monday.

While the experienced Babboor spanked Saurav Chakraborty 11-7, 11-3, 11-7, 11-7 in a one-sided quarter final, Roy survived a scare before prevailing over Bhusan Thakur of Railways with a hard-fought 9-11, 11-5, 8-11, 6-11, 11-9, 11-3, 11-5 verdict.

The Roy-Thakur showdown turned out to be an exciting affair as fortunes fluctuated till the very end before Roy turned tables on his opponent in the deciding game.

In another quarter final match, talented Subham Choudhury of Railways displayed good form while outplaying Sivaji Dutta of PSCB 12-10, 8-11, 11-8, 11-4, 11-13, 11-8 to romp into the semis.

Promising Railways paddler Anirban Nandy created an upset of sorts by humbling former national champion Arup Basak of PSCB 11-7, 12-10, 11-7, 16-14 to secure a berth in the last four stage.

Chetan Babboor will clash with Subham Choudhury in the first semi-final while Anirban Nandy will lock horns with Soumyadeep Roy in the second semi-final on Tuesday.

In the mixed doubles event, K S Chakraborty and T Pradipa clinched the title, defeating Jayanta Chandra and Sinjinee Mitra with a 17-15, 11-3, 10-12, 11-4 verdict.