CHANDIGARH, July 24 :Hosts Accountant General Haryana will lock horns with Accountant General Uttar Pradeshin the team championship final of the North Zone IA and Table Tennis Tournament being conducted by AG (Audit), Haryana at the Sector 23 Table Tennis Hall here on Saturday.
Tied two-all in the second semi-final played in the afternoon session, Haryana snatched an exciting and well-deserved 3-2 verdict against Delhi Audit. It was Harish Kumar who clinched the final berth for AG Haryana after snuffing out the challenge of Shyam Kumar 11-9, 11-2, 7-11, 11-7 in the fifth and deciding final singles match. He atoned himself for his earlier lapse as Harish had suffered defeats at the hands of Joginder Bisht in the first singles. The Delhi player won by 13-11, 11-7, 6-11, 11-6.
Besides, Harish, Amod Kumar and Patanjali Kumar also won their matches which paved the way for Haryana to advance to the final.
Accountant General Uttar Pradesh rallied to beat AG Punjab by 3-1 in the first team championship semi-final. AG Punjab started their campaign through Vikash Sharma who scored a hard-fought 14-12, 11-6, 14-12 verdict against SP Singh of AG Uttar Pradesh in the opening singles to give his team 1-0 lead. However, the AG Punjab lost the next three matches as Uttar Pradesh emerged 3-1 winners and moved into the final.
Amit Srivastava restored parity by beating Lav Kumar with a comfortable score of 11-2, 11-4, 11-5. SK Tiwari then put Uttar Pradesh ahead by overcoming Sonic Monga by 13-11, 11-7, 11-8. In the last and deciding singles, Amit Srivastava rounded of the winners’ tally with a 4-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-8 triumph over Vikash Sharma..
Earlier, defending championship AG Himachal Pradesh made their inglorious exit as they were toppled by AG (Audit) Delhi by 3-1.
Lav Kumar (AG Punjab), Amod Dikshit (AG Haryana), Satish Tiwari (AG UP), Somnath Pramanik (AG HP), Patanjali Kumar (AG Haryana) and Vinod Kaushik (AG Haryana) advanced to the next round in the men’s singles. Displaying his "old spark’ Patanjali Kumar of AG Haryana downed Asuthosh Pandey of AG Himachal by 11-9, 11-9, 11-9.
Accountant General (A &E) Punjab Punam Pandey inaugurated the tournament. Among those present on the occasion were Principal Accountant General Punjab RP Singh, AG (Audit) Haryana Jagbans Singh and Sr DAG Haryana Rajdeep Singh.
Results: Team Championship (semi-finals): AG Uttar Pradesh bt AG Punjab 3-1 ( SP Singh lost to Vikash Sharma 12-14, 6-11, 12-14, Amit Srivastava bt Lav Kumar 11-2, 11-4, 11-5, SK Tiwari bt Sonic Monga 13-11, 11-7, 11-8, Amit Srivastava bt Vikash Sharma 4-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-8).
AG Haryana bt Delhi Audit 3-2 ( Harish Kumar lost to Joginder Bisht 11-13, 7-11, 11-6, 6-11, Amod Dixit bt Shyam Kumar 13-11, 13-11, 9-11, 11-7, Patanjli Kumar bt Prashant Bhambri 9-11, 11-8, 11-5, 4-11, 11-7, Amod Dixit lost to Joginder Bisht 4-11, 11-6, 11-9, 3-11, 5-11, Harish Kumar bt Shyam Kumar 11-9, 11-2, 7-11, 11-7).
First round: Delhi Audit bt AG Himachal Pradesh 3-1 (Shyam Kumar lost to Jaswant Gangta 12-10, 9-11, 8-11, 8-11, Jagminder Bisht bt Anamik Sood 11-9, 11-3, 11-6, Prasant Bhambri bt Somnath Pramanik 11-6, 11=6, 11-2, Joginder Bisht bt Jaswant Gangta 11-9, 11-5, 11-8).
Men’s singles (Ist round): Lav Kumar (AG Punjab) bt Sushil Goswami (AG UP) 11-7, 11-9, 11-9, Amod Dikshit (AG Haryana) bt Anil Kumar (AG Punjab) 11-7, 11-7, 11-8, Satish Tiwari (AG UP) bt Suresh Gangta (AG HP) 11-9, 11-9, 11-8, Somnath Parmanic (AG HP) 11-9, 11-8, 11-6, Patanjali Kumar (AG Haryana) bt Asuthosh Pandey (AG HP) 11-9, 11-9, 11-9, Vinod Kaushik (AG Haryana) bt Rajiv Kumar (AG Punjab) 11-7, 11-6, 11-9.