Nagpur: After going through right shoulder surgery, international paddler Mallika Bhandarkar won her first medal for Air India after a layoff of an year in 46th Inter- Institutional Table tennis Championships which are being held at SMS indoor stadium Jaipur.

Mallika Bhandarkar represents Air India at various national tournaments for past nine years. Mallika has various national & international medals to her credit. Mallika’s team comprising Vedika Garg (Thane), Devika Bhide (Pune), Shruti Amrute and Manasi Deshpande, (Thane) defeated Defence Accounts Sports Board (DASCB) 3-0 in the first round. Air India won against All India Reserve Bank (3-0) who were seeded 2nd in the tournament. In the third round Air India defeated LIC 3-0. However in the semi-final they lost to Airport Authority of India 0-3 and thus satisfied with bronze.

Result (semi): Airport Authority of India bt Air India 3-0 (Ayhika Mukherjee bt Devika Bhide 11-8, 12-10, 7-11, 4-11, 11-4; Archana Kamath bt Mallika Bhandarkar 11-8, 8-11, 6-11, 11-8, 11-5; Sreeja Akula bt Shruti Amrute 11-9, 11-8, 11-6).