Prominent among the performers was 14-year-old Mallika Parekh. The soft spoken Mallika proved that a double at Matunga Gymkhana was no fluke as she went on to repeat the fete. At the JVPG tournament she again lifted the women's and girl's crown to show that the ninth standard student of St Anthony's school, Chembur was ready to take on the world, not that she hasn't.

The men's event sprung a lot of surprises. The pre-tournament calculations went for a tailspin as fancied players were outsmarted by their lower ranked players. Among the giant killer was KK Rai who showed the top seed, S Sriram the door in the fourth round of the men's singles.

The lanky Rohit Choudhary also proved to be the face in the crowd by claiming the men's singles title. In a hard fought battle, Choudhary upset the thirdseed Nachiket Chawathe in taut five sets. At Matunga, Choudhary had made short work of third seed Kunal Solanki in the final and also drew accolades from Kamlesh Mehta who happened to be a spectator at Juhu.

A young find of the tournament was 11-year-old Omkar Tolgarkar who won the cadet boy's title. Omkar, who started playing just 11 months ago has shown a phenomenal knack for the game. In his last major tournament at RCF, a couple of weeks ago, Omkar had finished among the last four and this time he reached the summit in the cadet boys group. It has been quite an achievement by the young lad who practices at Mulund Gymkhana without a coach.

ON THE HORIZON

Ankur Mahajan: This 13-year-old of St Blaise High School has been in the thick of affairs since 1996. His major achievement, apart from some notable displays at various events, has been finding a sponsor in ONGC.

Eric Fernandes: Eric, like Ankur also is a student at St Blaise but a year older. And has been playing table tennisfor the last four years at the YMCA Andheri. A keen sports enthusiast, Eric also follows basketball and loves roller-skating.

Aditya Mahagaokar: Always among pre-tournament favourites, this Hansraj Morarjee Public School youngster has earned quite some respect in table tennis circles. Now 13, Aditya started playing table tennis six years ago and his daily routine includes three hours of practice, apart from the physical training, at the Andheri YMCA.

Kalpesh Mohite: This young lad from Satara is a die-hard table tennis lover and follows nothing else but `tt'. The 13-year-old Kalpesh gets his coaching at Ajinkya Gymkhana, back home.

Omkar Tolgarkar: Only a few months in table tennis circles and Omkar seems to have found his way through many a hearts. A student at King George School, Mulund, Omkar is only 11 years old but had given his bigger opponents a run for their money on numerous occassions. The class sixth lad is a known face at Mulund Gymkhana where he practices for four tofive hours, daily. And what about studies? ``Well...I manage,'' he quips with a cheeky smile.

Ruhi Chawla: `I love this game because it is so fast,'' says young Juhi, a class eight student at Canossa Convent High School. But apart from table tennis, Ruhi, aged 12, loves to swim and had competed in various swimming competitions before settling for her first love.

Mallika Parekh: This 14-year-old needs no introduction in table tennis circles. A student at St Anthony's High School, Mallika's den is Matunga Gymkhana. Of her seven years' career, her main coach has been Amitabh Choudhary.

Chandni Ashar: This dimunitive player undergoes private training under the guidance of coach Gandeep Bhiwandkar. Aged 14, Chandni is a class ninth student at Ashok Academy and a regular at table tennis events.Among the girls, Mamta Prabhu, Rujuta Rege, Manasi Bhagwat, Juili Inamdar and Bela Mehta also came up with some impressive performances.