Mumbai's Diya Chitale, Reeth Rishiya & Sreeja Akula bag 1st rank in Women's singles by TTFI!

Bringing cheer to the city, Mumbai's Diya Chitale has been conferred with the first position in the Women's singles category by the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI). As per the rankings released by the TTFI on Sunday, with 225 points, Diya secured the top position jointly with Reeth Rishya of PSPB and Sreeja Akula of RBI. Notably, the 18-year-old table tennis prodigy had recently bagged her first-ever Women title by winning the gold medal at UTT National Table Tennis Championship in Indore.

Diya registered victory in a nail-biting match

[rebelmouse-proxy-image https://media.rbl.ms/image?u=%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F01%2FDiYa-Chitale-TT-e1578398651986.jpg&ho=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.shethepeople.tv&s=777&h=405ad31fd6eb1296b1b1d308fbf08ca958583c11d17a96f5bad3a9df200205e7&size=980x&c=2420152904 photo_credit="" pin_description="" dam="0" site_id=20074994 caption="" photo_credit_src="https://www.shethepeople.tv/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DiYa-Chitale-TT-e1578398651986.jpg" crop_info="%7B%22image%22%3A%20%22https%3A//media.rbl.ms/image%3Fu%3D%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252F2020%252F01%252FDiYa-Chitale-TT-e1578398651986.jpg%26ho%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.shethepeople.tv%26s%3D777%26h%3D405ad31fd6eb1296b1b1d308fbf08ca958583c11d17a96f5bad3a9df200205e7%26size%3D980x%26c%3D2420152904%22%7D" expand=1]

Earlier this week, Diya had clinched her maiden women's singles title adding 90 points to her cumulative tally of 225 points which was the same as Reeth, the runner up of the event and Sreeja. While the Mumbai paddler was in a joint fifth position before the start of this Central Zone competition, her extraordinary performance ensured her victory as an emerging champion.

In what can be called a nail-biting match, Diya managed to win over India's number one paddler Sreeja in the semi-finals by marking a tense 4-3 victory. In the finals, the tennis prodigy battled Indian's number 2 and second-seeded Reeth Rishiya in a fluctuating win by 7-11, 11-7, 8-11, 12-10, 7-11, 12-11, and 11-8.

Check the ranking of men's singles here

[rebelmouse-proxy-image https://media.rbl.ms/image?u=%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fstyles%2Ffull%2Fpublic%2F2018%2F04%2F20%2F673936-harmeetdesai-042018.jpg&ho=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.dnaindia.com&s=742&h=3e5dbe30ca162d4574cb683dbf4b189d9e00876a29d1238fda9886a862106f92&size=980x&c=2746966561 photo_credit="" pin_description="" dam="0" site_id=20074994 caption="" photo_credit_src="https://cdn.dnaindia.com/sites/default/files/styles/full/public/2018/04/20/673936-harmeetdesai-042018.jpg" crop_info="%7B%22image%22%3A%20%22https%3A//media.rbl.ms/image%3Fu%3D%252Fsites%252Fdefault%252Ffiles%252Fstyles%252Ffull%252Fpublic%252F2018%252F04%252F20%252F673936-harmeetdesai-042018.jpg%26ho%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fcdn.dnaindia.com%26s%3D742%26h%3D3e5dbe30ca162d4574cb683dbf4b189d9e00876a29d1238fda9886a862106f92%26size%3D980x%26c%3D2746966561%22%7D" expand=1]

According to the ranking released by the TTFI, Gujarat's Harmeet Desai managed to defend the first rank in men's singles with 240 points. The second rank was held by Mumbai's former national champion Sanil Shetty with 210 points while the third position was secured by Manav Thakkar at 195 points. Notably, both the players at the second and third positions represent Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB).

Manush Shah of Gujarat was placed at the fourth position in men's singles with a total of 165 points. With 150 points, four-time Olympian Achanta Sharath Kamal managed to bag the fifth position this year.