Fancied teams, like PSPB and RBI, asserted their authority to cruise into the knock-out stages unbeaten on the opening day of the 52nd Institutional Table Tennis Championships, the second-most prestigious event on the TTFI’s domestic calendar, which unfolded largely on expected lines at the Abhay Prashal in Indore on Wednesday.
Dominance was the defining them across two rounds of group matches. The men’s team of the Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) barely broke stride, sailing through their encounters without conceding a match. The PSPB women, however, were made to work harder than the scorelines suggested. Despite posting identical 3–0 wins over Group A rivals, the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESI) and hosts Airports Authority of India (AAI), they encountered spirited resistance before sealing control.
Group C witnessed tense finishes, particularly for the Railway women, who were pushed to the brink by both Canara Bank and the Food Corporation of India. Showing composure under pressure, they edged out narrow 3–2 victories in both ties to finish on top, though not without visible strain. In Group B, the Reserve Bank of India asserted its pedigree with a 3–0 win over LIC and a hard-fought 3–1 triumph against Audit. The latter clash tested RBI’s depth and resolve, with lead player Diya Chitale stepping up at a crucial moment to steer her team clear.
On the men’s side, PSPB’s formidable quartet of Payas Jain, Harmeet Desai, G. Sathiyan, and Divyansh Srivastava underlined their supremacy with back-to-back 3–0 wins, setting an early benchmark in the competition.
The Railway men in Group B found ESIC easy pickings but were made to work hard by FCI, edging past them 3–2. RBI, meanwhile, cruised past the Air Force but was taken the distance by Canara Bank, needing three five-game matches to subdue stubborn resistance. Manush Shah proved decisive, winning both his singles to tilt the contest in RBI’s favour.
Anirban Ghosh, Jeet Chandra, and Akash Pal faced a stiff challenge from FCI’s Wesley Do Rosario and Vansh Singh, who kept their side in contention by sharing a win apiece. Jeet endured a particularly tough outing, first going down to Vansh 12–10, 8–11, 4–11, 11–7, 7–11, and then losing to Wesley 10–12, 11–7, 6–11, 8–11. That left Anirban to restore parity with a 3–1 win over Vansh in what was the standout match of the men’s section.
AAI stretched Audit, with Yashansh giving his team the early lead by defeating H. Jeho 11–9, 8–11, 11–6, 11–7. However, Deepit Patil and Sudhanshu Maini managed to take only a game each against SFR Snehit and Abhimanyu Mitra. In the reverse singles, Yashansh was overwhelmed by Snehit in straight games.
While play began on schedule, the smooth flow of action was briefly disrupted by off-court distractions, as repeated public-address announcements and start-stop instructions during matches by the organisers left players momentarily uncertain. The episode echoed a familiar spectacle at major sporting events, where ceremonial formalities momentarily overshadow competition—an oddity at a championship of national stature.
Despite the minor interruptions, the opening day firmly established the hierarchy, with top teams laying down a marker in an event that remains a vital rung in India’s domestic table tennis ladder.
Results: (Team Events): Men: (Round 1&2):
Group A: PSPB bt Defence Accounts 3-0; PSPB bt LIC 3-0.
Group B: RSPB bt ESIC 3-0; RSPB bt FCI 3-2.
Group C: RBI bt Air Force SCB 3-0; RBI bt Canara Bank 3-1.
Group D: Audit bt DAE 3-0; Audit bt AAI 3-1.
Women: (Round 1&2):
Group A: PSPB bt ESIC 3-0; PSPB bt AAI 3-0.
Group B: RBI bt LIC 3-0; Audit bt Defence Accounts 3-0; PSPB bt AAI 3-0; LIC bt Defence Accounts 3-0; RBI bt LIC 3-1.
Group C: RSPB bt Canara Bank 3-2; FCI bt DAE 3-0; Canara Bank bt DAE 3-0; RSPB bt FCI 3-2.
