Abahani break Biman mould
Sports Reporter
Abahani continued to celebrate their return to the table tennis circuit after a gap of 25 years when they stamped a sweeping success in the ladies event of the Global Insurance Open Table Tennis Championship at the NSC Wooden-floor Gymnasium yesterday. Soma completed a double for the popular Dhanmondi outfit when she won the women's singles title defeating Bangladesh Biman's Jayati in an absorbing final that stretched to five sets. After losing the first set 6-11, Soma bounced back winning the next two by an identical margin of 11-9. But Jayati was not ready to give up without a fight. The Biman paddler made it all square by winning the fourth set 11-7. Soma, who won the team event title for Abahani on Wednesday, however held her nerve in the fifth and final set to win by 11-6 points. Abahani, who are only making their appearance in the ladies section, also won the women's League title earlier this year. The return of Abahani ended Bangladesh Biman's undisputed reign in ping pong. The national flag carrier also suffered a whitewash against Narail in the boys' section. The boy's final was an all-Narail affair where Rocky got the better of Mishi with a 11-5, 8-11, 11-8, 11-7 victory. The only solace for Biman was that they managed to retain both the men singles and team event titles thanks to their veteran duo of Mahabub and Hamlet. Mahabub won the singles crown defeating Hamlet 11-9, 8-11, 11-9, 11-9, 7-11, 11-9 in the final.
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