Panchkula, January 11

Nalin Somani has won gold in the men’s veteran singles (above 49 years) at the 56th Haryana State and Inter-District Table Tennis Championship played in Rohtak.

In the final, Somani defeated Lovekesh Kumar Ahuja 11-4 8-11 11-6 11-5. In the semifinal, he defeated Ajay Grover 11-7 8-11 11-4 11-9.

Meanwhile, Manal Antal won silver in the girls’ U-17 category. She faced a 9-11 8-11 7-11 defeat against Suhana Saini in the final. Earlier, she defeated Sreedatri 11-9 9-11 11-9 11-7.

Jawahar wins gold

Local veteran table tennis player Jawahar Bhandari claimed gold in the 65+ category during the recently concluded Chandigarh State Table Tennis Championship. He was twice ranked India no. 3 in veterans’ national championships held in Jalandhar and Jaipur. He had represented the city and Himachal Pradesh in 12 veteran nationals. A former bank employee, Bhandari practices at the Sector 23 table tennis hall.