Sreeja Aggarwal, Mahi Kumari and Phalgun Gupta led the Haryana paddlers march as the Under-11 Youth Boys and Girls quarterfinals of the second National Ranking Table Tennis Championships at the Tau Devi Lal Indoor Hall in Panchkula produced a series of competitive encounters, in which several young paddlers faced tough challenges and staged late fightbacks to secure their places in the semifinals on Wednesday.
In the Under-11 Girls’ quarterfinals, Sreeja Aggarwal, Mahi Kumari and Phalgun Gupta advanced to the semifinals, ensuring a huge Haryana presence and medals. Sreeja overcame Andhra Pradesh’s Sri Mihika Govindaraju 3-1 in a closely fought encounter, while Mahi was more comfortable against Madhya Pradesh’s Anika Maheshwari, winning the contest 3-0. Phalgun Gupta completed Haryana’s impressive run with a 3-0 win over Bihar’s Nilanjana Sharma. Punjab’s Inaaya was the other player to book a semifinal berth, defeating Delhi’s Ikaara Sreeram 3-0, including a tough second game.
The Under-11 Boys’ quarterfinals also witnessed some impressive performances, though the second quarterfinal is yet to be completed. Maharashtra’s Rajvardhan Tiwari advanced with a 12-10, 11-9, 12-10 win over Gujarat’s Rehansh Singhvi, while West Bengal’s Arjun Sen edged past Delhi’s Kavish Hasti 3-1.
Viraaj comes from behind to pip Aarav, while Telangana’s Jatin Jairam edges Rigved Saha
Debanshu Chakraborty, also from West Bengal, sealed his semifinal place with a convincing 11-4, 11-3, 11-9 victory over Haryana’s Satvik Tyagi. The remaining quarterfinal will determine the final semifinalist in the boys’ draw.
The Under-11 pre-quarterfinals produced a competitive set of matches, with several players overcoming early setbacks and a few contests going the distance. In the boys’ draw, Rajvardhan Tiwari defeated Rajasthan’s Taarush Sharma 3-1, and Rehansh recovered after losing the first game 7-11 to Karnataka’s B.N. Chirayu to win 3-1. Naksh Mahajan edged Maharashtra’s Adhiraj Chauhan 3-2, while Satvik Tyagi overcame Telangana’s Ghanta Jatin Jairam by the same margin after Jatin fought back from 0-2 down to level the match, with Satvik taking the decider 13-11.
Telangana’s Subham Dey falls to Mayukh Sarkar
Mayukh Sarkar defeated Telangana’s Subham Dey 3-0, Arjun beat Tamil Nadu’s Akhil Vinodh 3-0, and Debanshu also advanced in straight games against Tamil Nadu’s A.R. Sundaramurty. Kavish recovered from a 10-12 second-game loss to beat Uttar Pradesh’s Pranit Agrawal 3-1.
The girls’ draw was equally competitive, with Sri Mishika defeating West Bengal’s Kritika Saibo 3-1 and Sreeka surviving Delhi’s Aradhya Kashyap 3-2 after Kashyap fought back from 0-2 down. Mahi beat Haryana’s Briti Patel 3-0, Anika defeated West Bengal’s Shivangi Mishra 3-1, and Inaaya completed a 3-0 win over Maharashtra’s Erina Ahmed.
Ikaara produced one of the round’s most impressive comebacks, recovering from a 3-11 opening-game loss against Chandigarh’s Mishita Jaryal to win the next three games 12-10, 14-12, 14-12 and seal a 3-1 victory. Nilanjana overcame Tamil Nadu’s K.P. Narumugail 3-1, while Phalgun fought back from 0-2 down against Delhi’s Privya Das Barua to prevail 3-2, winning the last three games 11-7, 11-9, 11-8.
With several five-game battles, close deciding games and notable comebacks, the pre-quarterfinals underlined the depth and competitiveness of both Under-11 draws.
Results: Under-11 boys (quarterfinals): Rajvardhan Tiwari (Mah) beat Rehansh Singhvi (Guj) 12-10, 11-9, 12-10; Arjun Sen (WB) beat Kavish Hasti (Del) 11-6, 9-11, 14-12, 11-8; Debanshu Chakraborty (WB) beat Satvik Tyagi (Har) 11-4, 11-3, 11-9. Pre-quarterfinals: Rajvardhan beat Taarush Sharma (Raj) 11-2, 11-5, 6-11, 11-6; Rehansh beat B.N. Chirayu (Kar) 7-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-6; Naksh beat Adhiraj Chauhan (Mah) 11-8, 8-11, 11-4, 5-11, 11-7; Mayukh beat Subham Dey (Telg) 11-6, 11-9, 12-10; Arjun beat Akhil Vinodh (TN) 11-6, 11-9, 11-3; Kavish beat Pranit Agrawal (UP) 11-9, 10-12, 11-6, 11-7; Satvik beat Ghanta Jatin Jairam (Telg) 13-11, 11-8, 10-12, 6-11, 13-11; Debanshu beat A.R. Sundaramurty (TN) 11-4, 11-3, 11-6.
Under-11 girls (quarterfinals): Sreeja Aggarwal (Har) beat Sri Mihika Gonvindaraju (AP) 11-6, 14-12, 8-11, 11-9; Mahi Kumari (Har) beat Anika Maheshwari (MP) 11-6, 11-8, 11-5; Inaaya (Pun) beat Ikaara Sreeram (Del) 11-6, 14-12, 11-5; Phalgun Gupta (Har) beat Nilankana Sharma (Bhr) 11-8, 11-7, 11-5. Pre-quarterfinals: Sri Mishika beat Kritika Saibo (WB) 11-7, 11-9, 8-11, 11-7; Sreeka beat Aradhya Kashyap (Del) 11-8, 11-9, 8-11, 7-11, 11-8; Mahi beat Briti Patel (Har) 11-2, 11-7, 11-5; Anika beat Shivangi Mishra (WB) 11-9, 10-12, 11-3, 11-7; Inaaya beat Erina Ahmed (Mah) 11-3, 11-8, 11-5; Ikaara beat Mishita Jaryal (Chd) 3-11, 12-10, 14-12, 14-12; Nilanjana beat K.P. Narumugail (TN) 13-11, 11-7, 6-11, 11-7; Phalgun beat Privya Das Barua (Del) 6-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-8.
