Ansars' double delight

Raj of Kishoreganj (L) serves against Dinajpur's Kiran during their 29th National Table Tennis Championships match at the NSC gymnasium yesterday.Photo: STAR

Bangladesh Ansar retained both the men's and women's team titles in the AB Bank 29th National Table Tennis Championships yesterday.
In the men's final last night, the Billah brothers inspired Ansars to defeat Biman 3-1 to clinch the title while the women's team also won by the same margin earlier in the day at the NSC Gymnasium.
Mahbub Billah gave Ansars a bright start when he won a five-set thriller 3-2 against Manash but Mostafa Billah made it look easy thrashing Biman's Hamlet 3-0.
Edison's 3-0 victory over veteran Ansars paddler Kachi raised Biman's hopes but only briefly, as Mahbub outplayed Hamlet in straight sets to end the competition.
The two teams reached the final from a four-team league also involving qualifiers Pabna and Feni.
In the women's final, Saleha blanked Seema 3-0 and Rumi downed Ratna by identical margin before Rahima recovered one set for Biman beating Soma 3-1.
Rumi, however, sealed Ansars' victory defeating Seema 3-0 in the final set.
Earlier in the semifinals, Ansars dumped Dhaka 3-0 and Biman ousted Rajshahi 3-0.
Dhaka and Chittagong were pitted against each other in the boys' final. Dhaka eliminated Narail 3-2 in Group A final to book a ticket for the final while Chittagong won Group B upsetting Biman 3-1.
The singles, doubles and mixed-doubles events will be finalised over the next three days.