Veteran paddler Yogesh Desai from Mumbai bagged two gold medals in the inaugural edition of the Commonwealth Masters’ Table Tennis Championship (CMTTC)  which recently concluded in Hyderabad. Showcasing immense mastery over his serves and returns with nimble moments  Desai defeated Ranga Rao V.G. in three keenly contested games at 11-9, 11-9, and 12-10 in the Men’s 70+ Singles to win his first gold medal.

Later, Desai combined perfectly with Ulhas Shirke to overcome the challenge from Satish Kulkarni and Pinakin Sampat 12-10, 10-12, 11-8, 12-10 to clinch the Men’s 70+ Doubles gold.

Shilpa Joshi from Kolhapur and Sunil Babras from Pune also claimed two gold medals each.Joshi prevailed over Mumbai’s Shivpriya cruising to an 11-8, 11-6, 12-10 victory to pocket the Women’s 50+ Singles crown. Later, Joshi in the company of Suhasini Bakre showcased plenty of grit and determination as the duo ground out a hard-fought 12-10, 8-11, 10-12, 11-6, 11-7 win against Swathi Agarkar/ Sunitha Datingan.

Babras got the better of Soram K, Singh 11-8, 12-10, 11-6 in winning the Men’s 60+ Singles gold medal and later he along with Vinay Chopra defeated Prakash Kelkar and Shivanand Kundage 12-10, 9-11, 11-8, 12-10 in the Doubles event.

Earlier the four day event with an overall prize money of $25,000 witnessed participation from players representing  many of the 72 member-nations of the Federation,  in  ten nine groups including  40-44 years; 45-49 years; 50-54 years; 55-59 years; 60-64 years; 65-69 years; 70-74 years; 75-79 years and 80+ and was held under the auspices of the Commonwealth Table Tennis Federation (CTTF).

Results (Finals)*:

Men’s 70+ Singles: Yogesh Desai beat Ranga Rao V.G. 11-9, 11-9, 12-10.

Men’s 70+ Doubles: Yogesh Desai/ Ulhas Shirke beat Satish Kulkarni/ Pinakin Sampat 12-10, 10-12, 11-8, 12-10.

Women’s 50+ Singles: Shilpa Joshi beat Shivpriya 11-8, 11-6, 12-10.

Women’s 50+ Doubles: Shilpa Joshi/ Suhasini Bakre beat Swathi Agarkar/ Sunitha Datingan 12-10, 8-11, 10-12, 11-6, 11-7.

Men’s 60+ Singles: Sunil Babras beat Soram K, Singh 11-8, 12-10, 11-6.

Men’s 60+ Doubles: Sunil Babras/ Vinay Chopra beat Prakash Kelkar/ Shivanand Kundage 12-10, 9-11, 11-8, 12-10.

Photo Above: Veteran paddler Yogesh Desai (Right) who won the Singles in the gold in the 70+ age category also emerged Doubles champs with his partner Ulhas Shirke