Himon Kumar Mondal of West Bengal and Karnataka’s Tanishka Kalbhairav emerged champions in the Under-15 boys’ and girls’ sections, respectively, at the second National Ranking Table Tennis Championships at the Tau Devi Lal Indoor Hall in Panchkula, capping their campaigns with hard-fought victories in the finals.
Himon staged an impressive comeback to overcome fellow West Bengal paddler Rishaan Chattopadhyay 3-2 in the boys’ final. After trading the first four games, Himon raised his level in the decider to pull away and seal the title, demonstrating composure and fighting spirit under pressure.
Tanishka, meanwhile, defeated Aarya Redkar of PSPBA 3-1 to claim the girls’ crown. The Karnataka paddler held her nerve to edge a tight opening game before taking the second. Although Aarya fought back to win the third, Tanishka regained control in the fourth to complete a deserved victory.
Raghav overcomes AP’s Vedansh, Bibeshna edges Telangana’s Avanthika in U-15 battles
Rishaan and Himon booked their places in the U-15 boys’ final, and Tanishka and Aarya advanced to the girls’ title-round after winning their respective semifinals in contrasting fashion.
Rishaan overcame Tamil Nadu’s J.N. Sanjey Arwindh 3-1, recovering from a closely contested opening game to take charge of the match. Himon also secured a 3-1 victory over Maharashtra’s Prateek Tulsani, bouncing back after losing the opening game to seal his place.
Rishaan earlier cruised past Maharashtra’s Param Bhiwandkar 3-0 in the quarterfinals, while Sanjey defeated West Bengal’s Rajdeep Biswas by an identical margin. Himon overcame Goa’s Sinai Caro Chandan 3-1, and Prateek completed the boys’ semifinal line-up with a 3-0 win against West Bengal’s Ariv Dutta.
In the U-15 girls’ semifinals, Tanishka commanded a 3-0 victory over West Bengal’s Saranya Kar, while Aarya of PSPBA defeated Haryana’s Avni Dua 3-0 to book her place in the final. Both winners maintained their composure in the crucial stages to progress without dropping a game.
Tanishka downs Sri Saanvi
Tanishka had earlier registered a 3-0 victory over Telangana’s Kamarapu Sri Saanvi in the quarterfinals. Saranya, however, had to work harder to advance, edging Maharashtra’s Myraa Sangelkar 3-2. The match was evenly balanced as the two traded punches regularly, winning the alternate games. In the decider, Saranya prevailed. Avni also faced a five-game contest, defeating Maharashtra’s Aadya Baheti 3-2, as the Haryana girl bounced back from 1-2 to level before surrendering in the decider. Aarya eased past Gujarat’s Daniya Godil 3-0 to complete the semifinal line-up.
Results: Under-15 boys (final): Himon Kumar Mondal (WB) beat Rishaan Chattopadhyay (WB) 8-11, 14-12, 6-11, 11-7, 11-6. Semifinals: Rishaan beat J.N. Sanjey Arwindh (TN) 13-11, 8-11, 11-6, 11-4; Himon beat Prateek Tulsani (Mah) 4-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-7. Quarterfinals: Rishaan beat Param Bhiwandkar (Mah) 3-0; Sanjey beat Rajdeep Biswas (WB) 3-0; Himon beat Sinai Caro (Goa) 3-1; Prateek beat Ariv Dutta (WB) 3-0.
Under-15 girls (final): Tanishka Kalbhairav (Kar) beat Aarya Redkar (PSPBA) 13-11, 11-6, 9-11, 11-6. Semifinals: Tanishka beat Saranya Kar (WB) 11-4, 11-9, 11-5; Aarya (PSPBA) beat Avni Dua (Har) 11-9, 11-9, 11-7. Quarterfinals: Tanishka beat Kamarapu Sri Saanvi (Telg) 3-0; Saranya beat Myraa Sangelkar (Mah) 3-2; Avni beat Aadya Baheti (Mah) 3-2; Aarya beat Daniya Godil (Guj) 3-0.
