Top women seed Akula Sreeja (RBI) was tested but prevailed over Shruti Amrute of Maharashtra in four games, while Telangana’s SFR Snehit went down to Maharashtra’s Kushal Chopda in the pre-quarterfinals of the 87th UTT Senior National Table Tennis Championships at the Abhay Prasal Stadium in Indore on Friday.
In a see-saw game, Snehit lost the first set 11-13 but came back strongly in the second one to win 11-6 and level the tie. However, Kushal hit back quickly to take the third one at 11-9 and retain his lead. But Snehit, once again, proved he was not done with as he won the fourth at 11-7 to level the scores yet again. But Kushal upped the ante when needed the most and took the fifth game at 11-7 and booked his quarterfinal berth.
Akula Sreeja, who is from Telangana, defeated Shruti 13-11, 11-7, 6-11, 11-9. The RBI paddler had to wage a grim battle in the first set before prevailing 13-11. She took the next one quite easily but had a slump in concentration as Shruti hit back by winning the third game at 11-6. However, Sreeja tightened her belt and won the next one at 11-9 to seal the issue.
The doubles finals took center stage on an action-packed day as they delivered high-quality rallies and dramatic momentum swings as champions were crowned in both categories.
Jeet-Anirbhan and Sutirtha-Kaushani win doubles’ finals
In the men’s final, Jeet Chandra and Anirban Ghosh of RSPB held their nerve to edge past 3-2 teammates Ronit Bhanja and Preyesh Raj Suresh in a gripping five-game contest. After racing to a two-game lead, Jeet and Anirban were pushed to the brink as their opponents clawed back, but they regrouped just in time to seal the title.
The women’s final saw Sutirtha Mukherjee and Kaushani Nath, also of the Railways, put up a composed performance to overcome Avisha Karmakar and Nandini Saha of AAI 3-1. Sutirtha and Kaushani combined consistency with sharp attacking play to close out the match in four games and lift the trophy.
The men’s singles pre-quarterfinals stage delivered a gripping mix of high-quality rallies and notable upsets, with several top seeds falling short of the last-eight lineup. With only the stronger seeds advancing, the men’s draw has opened up significantly, setting the stage for an unpredictable, fiercely contested quarterfinal round.
Manav survives a stern test, Harmeet pushed to the edge
Top seed Manav Thakkar survived a stern test against teammate Sanil Shetty, winning in four games. However, the round saw multiple seeded casualties. SFR Snehit, Manush Shah, and Divyansh Srivastava were among the prominent names to bow out, underscoring the competitive depth in the draw.
Harmeet Desai, incidentally, is the only surviving former national champion. He was pushed to the limit before edging past Aakash Pal in a five-game thriller, while Ankur Bhattacharjee also came through a hard-fought five-game encounter. Maharashtra’s Kushal Chopda and Raegan Albuquerque impressed, the former clinching a tight decider and the latter advancing in straight games.
In other results, Ronit Bhanja and Jeet Chandra registered strong wins, with Chandra eliminating seeded contender Manush Shah in a five-game battle. Mizoram’s H. Neho was another standout, upsetting Divyansh Srivastava after dropping the opening game.
The women’s singles pre-quarterfinals witnessed largely predictable outcomes, with most top contenders advancing, though a few seeded players fell by the wayside in tightly contested matches.Yashaswini Ghorpade and Sutirtha Mukherjee were in dominant touch, registering straight-game wins against Trisha Gogoi (Assam) and Avani Tripathi (UP), respectively. Syndrela Das (PSPB) also cruised through comfortably, underlining her strong form.
Among the more competitive ties, Suhana Saini of Haryana and Yashini Sivashankar of Tamil Nadu dropped a game each before sealing their quarterfinal berths. The standout clash saw Divyanshi Bhowmick fight back from a deficit to overcome Jennifer Varghese in five games. At the same time, second seed Diya Chitale recovered after losing the opening game to advance.
Despite the dominance of seeded players who reached the quarterfinals, a few notable names bowed out earlier than expected. Players like Trupti Purohit, Anannya Basak, and Jennifer Varghese caused brief ripples but could not progress further.
With the Doubles titles decided, attention now shifts to the business end of the tournament. The quarterfinals in both men’s and women’s singles will follow on the penultimate day, while the championship will culminate with three finals, including the mixed doubles, on the final day.
Results: Men’s singles (pre-quarterfinals): Manav Thakkar (PSPB) beat Sanil Shetty (PSPB) 11-9, 11-3, 9-11, 13-11; Kushal Chopda (Mah) beat SFR Snehit (Telg) 13-11, 6-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-7; Harmeet Desai (PSPB) beat Aakash Pal (RSPB) 6-11, 11-6, 11-8, 9-11, 13-11; Ankur Bhattacharjee (WB) beat Sudhanshu Grover 9Del) 11-6, 11-7, 10-12, 11-13, 11-6; Raegan Albuquerque (Mah) beat Neil Mulye (Mah) 11-5, 14-12, 11-8; Ronit Bhanja (RSPB) beat Jash Modi (PSPB) 11-1, 11-3, 4-11, 11-8; H. Neho (Miz) beat Divyansh Srivastava (PSPB) 4-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-9; Jeet Chandra (RSPB) beat Manush Shah (RBI) 11-7, 8-11, 11-7, 10-12, 11-4.
Men’s Doubles: Final: Jeet Chandra/Anirban Ghosh (RSPB) beat Ronit Bhanja/Preyesh Raj Suresh (RSPB) 11-8, 11-6, 10-12, 1-11, 11-8. Semifinals: Jeet/Anirban beat M.R. Balamurugan/Siddhesh Pande (TN) 11-13, 11-4, 14-12, 11-7; Ronit/Preyesh beat Sanil Shetty/Divyansh Srivastava (PSPB) 7-11, 11-6, 13-11, 11-8.
Women’s Singles: Pre-quarterfinals: Akula Sreeja (RBI) beat Shruti Amrute (Mah) 13-11, 11-7, 6-11, 11-9; Yashaswini Ghorpade (PSPB) beat Trisha Gogoi (Asm) 111-7, 11-9, 11-4; Suhana Saini (Har) beat Trupti Purohit (Kar) 6-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-9; Sutirtha Mukherjee (RSPB) beat Avani Tripapthi (UP) 11-5, 11-6, 11-8; Syndrela Das (PSPB) beat Anannya Basak (iA&AD) 11-4, 11-4, 11-7; Yashini Sivashankar (TN) beat Anusha Kutumbale (RSPB) 11-6, 11-7, 6-11, 11-9; Divyanshi Bhowmick (Mah) beat Jennifer Varghese (Mah) 11-6, 5-11, 6-11, 11-9, 11-4; Diya Chitale (RBI) beat Tanishka Kalbhairav (Mar) 9-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-4.
Women’s Doubles: Final: Sutirtha Mukherjee/Kaushani Nath (RSPB) beat Avisha Karmakar/Nandini Saha (AAI) 11-9, 7-11, 11-8, 11-5. Semifinals: Avisha/Nandini beat Aarti Chaudhury/Avani Tripathi (UP) 11-9, 11-8, 11-4; Sutirtha/Kaushani beat Frenaz Chipia/Fatema Kadri (Guj) 11-7, 11-5, 11-7.
