Soumyadeep, Indu champs

Soumyadeep Roy of Rajasthan showed little respect for reputation as he stunned defending champion S Raman of Tamil Nadu to claim the singles title in men's table tennis tournament at the 31st National Games in Jalandhar on Saturday.

The experienced N R Indu of Tamil Nadu somewhat made up for the defeat of her team mate to win the women's crown.

Soumyadeep, who had finished fourth in the last edition of the Games at Imphal, never really allowed his fancied opponent to settle down as he carved out a 11-9, 11-9, 11-5, 12-10 victory over Raman to give Rajasthan their lone gold in the event.

The seasoned Indu, however, kept her reputation intact, taking the gold in the women's singles event with a facile 11-9, 11-4, 14-12, 11-6 victory over giant-killer Vishaka Bijoy of Rajasthan, in a match which lasted nearly 45 minutes.

Tamil Nadu picked nother gold, when the pair of Raman and Indu prevailed over state mates Sharath Kamal and T Pradeepa with a hard-fought 11-5, 14-12, 4-11, 11-4 victory.

The strong Bengal paddlers, who had taken the bulk of the gold medals in the Imphal Games, disappointed a little as they failed to reach the final of the singles events.

But of the seven gold medals on offer, Bengal picked up three, the same mumber as Tamil Nadu, while Rajasthan pocketed one.