Top seeds Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, along with Assam and Maharashtra, edged into the semifinals, but only just. Each of them survived nail-biting 3–2 encounters against PSPBA, Haryana, Gujarat and Delhi, respectively, to stay alive in the competition.
If Tuesday’s action in the boys’ team event at the UTT 87th Inter-State Junior and Youth National Table Tennis Championships is anything to go by, even the semifinals, or the final, may struggle to match the sheer intensity of the quarterfinals. All four ties at the New Multipurpose Hall in Dehradun went right down to the wire, with no team able to assert clear dominance. The winners return later in the evening for the semifinals.
Tamil Nadu’s Abhinand delivers
The day belonged to several standout performers. Tamil Nadu’s P B Abhinand delivered two crucial singles victories, while Priyanuj Bhattacharyya (Assam) and Punit Biswas (West Bengal) mirrored that effort for their sides. Maharashtra’s campaign, meanwhile, saw a mixed outing from Kushal Chopda, who split his matches, but Oishik Ghosh rose to the occasion when it mattered most. After dropping one match earlier, Ghosh held his nerve in the decider to steer Maharashtra through.
Haryana, however, will rue a missed opportunity. Their top player, Duklan Vatsal, played the third rubber, a strategically wrong decision. Yet, Nikunj Attri appeared set to seal the tie when he surged to a 7–2 lead in the fourth game, but Ghosh staged a remarkable comeback to snatch it 13–11. Riding that momentum, he comfortably claimed the fifth game, knocking Haryana out of medal contention.
Delhi fade out despite Arjav’s effort
Delhi’s challenge, too, faded despite Arjav Gupta’s valiant effort. His two singles triumphs against Neil Mulye and Kushal Chopda kept his team in the hunt, but the lack of support from Atherva Gupta and Bhaskar Singh ultimately proved costly.
Earlier, when Assam’s Divyaj Rajkhowa Roy dropped the opening rubber to Sarthak Arya in a gruelling 15-13, 7-11, 5-11, 4-11 battle, Odisha appeared firmly on course for a quarterfinal berth. However, Assam’s top paddler Priyanju Bhattacharyya had other ideas, drawing level with a composed win over Sai Kiran Pradhan.
The momentum briefly swung back to Odisha when Drishtanta Borah failed to convert his chances against Jigyansu Sahoo, who prevailed 11-5, 11-8, 11-8, putting Assam under pressure. But Priyanju rose to the occasion once again, defeating Sarthak 11-8, 5-11, 11-9, 11-6 in a crucial fourth rubber to keep Assam alive. Divyaj then sealed the comeback in style, shutting out Sai Kiran 11-5, 11-9, 11-7.
Delhi, meanwhile, had a shaky start as Atherva Gupta went down to Chandigarh’s Vishal Garg 7-11, 9-11, 6-11. Arjav Gupta turned the tide with a spirited comeback win over Pritish Sood (9-11, 11-4, 11-6, 11-3), before Bhaskar Singh edged out Vadya Chawla in a tense five-game contest (11-4, 11-1, 8-11, 7-11, 15-13). Arjav then wrapped up the tie with a straight-games victory over Vishal.
Haryana proved too strong for Jammu and Kashmir, cruising to a 3-0 win. Duklan Vatsal set the tone by overcoming Ritvik Gupta in a five-game opener, while Siddhant Kataria and Nikunj Aattri comfortably dispatched K. Nishcal Saiyam and Pratham Raiana.
Top seeds Tamil Nadu and West Bengal advanced without fuss, registering 3-0 wins over Telangana and Himachal Pradesh, respectively. Maharashtra, PSPB Karnataka, and Gujarat also progressed, with Gujarat posting a 3-1 victory over NCOE.
Results: Under-19 boys (quarterfinals): Tamil Nadu beat PSPBA 3-2 (M R Balamurugan lost to Sahil Rawat 11-7, 10-12, 8-11, 13-11, 5-11, P B Aabhinand beat Ronald Sarkar 7-11, 11-5, 11-3, 11-5, S K Mehan lost to Rushikesh Jagtap 4-11, 5-11, 7-11, Abhinand beat Sahil 3-11, 11-4, 11-6, 11-6, Balamurugan beat Ronald 9-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-7); Assam beat Gujarat 3-2 (Divyaj Rajkhow Roy lost to Vivaan Dave 11-6, 6-11, 9-11, 10-12, Priyanuj Bhattacharyya beat Dhyey Jani 12-10, 11-6, 11-8, Swapnanil Dutta lost to Janmejay Patel 7-11, 11-13, 11-5, 9-11, Priyanuj beat Vivaan 11-5, 11-5, 11-4, Divyaj beat Dhyey 11-8, 8-11, 9-11, 11-4, 11-5); Maharashtra beat Delhi 3-2 (Kushal Chopda beat Atherva Gupta 11-4, 7-11, 11-5, 11-9, Neil Mulye lost to Arjav Gupta 12-10, 1-1, 9-11, 5-11, Ishan Khandekar beat Bhaskar Singh 11-5, 11-6, 11-5, Kushal lost to Arjav 8-11, 9-11, 6-11, Neil beat Aatherva 12-10, 5-11, 11-9, 12-10); West Bengal beat Haryana 3-2 (Punit Biswas beat Nikunj Attri 11-3, 11-5, 11-6, Oishik Ghosh lost to Siddhant Kataria 3-11, 5-11, 11-9, 12-14, Priyanshu Karmakar lost to Duklan Vatsal 5-11, 11-7, 8-11, 9-11, Punit beat Siddhant 11-8, 11-5, 11-3, Oishik beat Nikunj 12-14, 5-11, 11-6, 13-11, 11-5). Pre-quarterfinals: Tamil Nadu beat Telangana 3-0; PSPBA beat Karnataka 3-1; Gujarat beat NCOE 3-1; Assam beat Odisha 3-2; Maharashtra beat Rajasthan 3-0; Delhi beat Chandigarh 3-1; Haryana beat J and K 3-0; West Bengal beat Himachal Pradesh 3-0.
