A Amalraj won his maiden national title by defeating A Sharath Kamal in the final of the 73rd Senior National and Inter-State Table Tennis Championships in Lucknow on 29 January 2012. After the two traded blistering shots, Amalraj inched ahead from 7-all to lead 10-8.
It was a title double for Amalraj, as had won the men's doubles along with Sanil Shetty, defeating Harmit Desai and Devesh Karia of Gujarat (3-2) 12-10, 8-11, 10-11, 11-6, 12-10 in the final.
The victory was however marred by controversy. After defeating the six-time national champion Achanta Sharath Kamal, Amalraj in a fit of excitement leapt on to the table and hurled his bat before pumping his fists. His over the top celebration of his victory drew a yellow and then a red card. Competition manager N Ganeshan recommended to the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) deduction of 25 per cent of his prize money purse of Rs 2.1 lakh as punishment.
In the women’s category Poulami Ghatak exacted revenge of her 2011 loss in the final to K Shamini. Poulomi defeated Shamini in four straight games for her seventh national crown. Poulami exploited Shamini's unforced errors to the hilt to triumph 4-0 (11-9, 11-4, 11-8, 11-7).
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