Delhi’s Arunim Agarwal survived a scare as the third day of the UTT National Ranking Table Tennis Championships at the Sportz Hub in Kanpur witnessed some absorbing battles in the Under-13 boys and girls sections, with the boys’ quarterfinals producing a particularly thrilling five-game encounter, while two of the girls’ last-eight matches also went the full distance.
In the Under-13 Boys, top-ranked West Bengal continued their strong performance, with Ariv Dutta and Rajdeep Biswas securing their places in the semifinals. Ariv overcame Tamil Nadu’s H. Tanish 11-6, 15-13, 11-7, though the second game went right down to the wire. Rajdeep, meanwhile, defeated Maharashtra’s Adhiraj Chauhan 11-4, 11-6, 13-11, recovering from a late challenge in the third game to close out the match.
The most exciting boys’ quarterfinal was undoubeatedly the five-game battle between Delhi’s Arunim Agarwal and West Bengal’s Debanshu Chakraborty. Arunim made a bright start, but Debanshu fought back to level the contest twice. With neither player willing to give ground, the deciding fifth game became a test of nerves, with Arunim eventually holding his composure to prevail 5-11, 13-11, 11-3, 9-11, 11-9.
West Bengal’s Gem Mahalanabish completed the boys’ semifinal line-up after overcoming PSPBA’s Raayan Borthakur 11-7, 11-6, 10-12, 11-8. Raayan pulled one game back after trailing 0-2, but Gem regained control in the fourth to book his place in the last four.
The Under-13 Girls section also produced two matches that stretched to four and five games. Assam’s Divija Paul held her nerve against Uttar Pradesh’s Pehel Gupta, winning 3-1 in a closely fought contest. Maharashtra’s Mahika Susvirkar had to come from behind twice against compatriot Keshika Purkar before securing a hard-earned 8-11, 11-4, 7-11, 11-6, 11-8 victory in five games.
Ishani Gogoi of Assam made comparatively light work of West Bengal’s Aradhya Dey Sarkar, winning 3-0, while Delhi’s Khyati Pande defeated Uttar Pradesh’s Anishika Gupta 3-0 to complete the girls’ semifinal line-up.
Adhira goes down fighting; Rajvardhan leads boys into semis, Inaaya survives a thriller
The Uttar Pradesh players had nevertheless made a strong impression during the knockout stages, particularly in the pre-quarterfinals. Pehel Gupta had earlier produced a commanding display against Maharashtra’s Vedika Jaiswal, winning 11-7, 11-5, 11-4 and maintaining the control she had shown from the beginning of the main draw. Her state-mate Anishika Gupta, meanwhile, had to dig deep against Maharashtra’s Aadya Baheti. After winning two closely contested deuce games, Anishika dropped the third before regaining her composure to win 12-10, 15-13, 8-11, 11-8. However, the challenge of both Uttar Pradesh youngsters ended in the quarterfinals, where their higher-quality opponents proved too strong.
The performances of the local Uttar Pradesh players have nevertheless been one of the championship’s encouraging features. With several players making their presence felt throughout the competition and progressing into the knockout phase, the Kanpur leg has provided valuable exposure to the state’s young talent. Their performances up to the pre-quarterfinal stage, in particular, reflected the growing competitiveness and depth of table tennis in the region.
The semifinals and finals of the Under-11 and Under-13 Boys and Girls are scheduled for tomorrow, followed by the prize distribution ceremony. Meanwhile, the Under-15 Boys and Girls are engaged in qualification group matches as they battle for places in the main draw, which begins on Wednesday.
Results: Youth Boys Under-13 (quarterfinals): Ariv Dutta (WB) beat H Tanish (TN) 11-6, 15-13, 11-7; Rajdeep Biswas (WB) beat Adhiraj Chauhan (Mah) 11-4, 11-6, 13-11; Arunim Agarwal (Del) beat Debanshu Chakbraorty (WB) 5-11, 13-11, 11-3, 9-11, 11-9; Gem Mahalanabish (WB) beat Raayan Borthakur (PSPBA) 11-7, 11-6, 10-12, 11-8.
Youth Girls Under-13 (quarterfinals): Divija Paul (Asm) beat Pehel Gupta (UP) 11-8, 6-11, 11-9, 13-11; Ishani Gogoi (Asm) beat Aradhya Dey Sarkar (WB) 11-4, 11-8, 11-3; Mahika Susvirkar (Mah) beat Keshika Purkar (Mah) 8-11, 11-4, 7-11, 11-6, 11-8; Khyati Pande (Del) beat Anishika Gupta (UP) 11-9, 11-8, 11-6.
