India: The doubles final was the focus of an action-packed day at the 87th UTT Senior National Table Tennis Championships at the Abhay Prasal Stadium, delivering quality rallies and dramatic swings as champions were crowned in both categories.
In the men’s final, RSPB’s Jeet Chandra and Anirban Ghosh held their nerve and edged out teammates Ronit Bhanja and Preyesh Raj Suresh 3-2 in a thrilling five-game contest. After building a two-game lead, Jeet and Anirban were brought to the brink as their opponents recovered, but they regrouped just in time to secure the title.
In the women’s final, Sutirtha Mukherjee and Kaushani Nath, also of Railways, put in a composed performance to defeat Avisha Karmakar and Nandini Saha of AAI 3-1. Sutirtha and Kaushani combined consistency with sharp attacking play to end the game after four games and lift the trophy.
The men’s singles pre-quarterfinal stage delivered a thrilling mix of high-octane rallies and notable upsets, with several top seeds falling short of the last eight. With only the higher seeded players advancing, the men’s draw has opened up significantly, setting the stage for an unpredictable, hard-fought quarterfinal round.
Top seed Manav Thakkar survived a tough test against teammate Sanil Shetty to win in four games. However, there were several set losses in the round. SFR Snehit, Manush Shah and Divyansh Srivastava were among the prominent names eliminated, highlighting the depth of competition in the draw.
Incidentally, Harmeet Desai is the only living former national champion. He was pushed to the limit before getting the better of Aakash Pal in a five-game thriller, while Ankur Bhattacharjee also survived a hard-fought encounter in five games. Maharashtra’s Kushal Chopda and Raegan Albuquerque impressed, with the former securing a narrow decider and the latter progressing in straight games.
In other results, Ronit Bhanja and Jeet Chandra recorded strong wins, with Chandra eliminating seed Manush Shah in a five-game battle. Mizoram’s H. Neho was another standout player who upset Divyansh Srivastava after losing the opening game.
Results in the women’s singles ahead of the quarter-finals were largely predictable, with most of the top contenders progressing, although some seeds fell by the wayside in closely contested matches.
Women’s top seed Akula Sreeja (RBI) was put to the test but beat Shruti Amrute of Maharashtra in four games. Yashaswini Ghorpade and Sutirtha Mukherjee dominated the match and registered consecutive wins against Trisha Gogoi (Assam) and Avani Tripathi (UP) respectively. Syndrela Das (PSPB) also got through without any problems, underlining her strong form.
Among the more closely contested encounters, Haryana’s Suhana Saini and Tamil Nadu’s Yashini Sivashankar lost a game each before securing their place in the quarterfinals. The outstanding clash saw Divyanshi Bhowmick fight back from a deficit to defeat 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 the seeded players who reached the quarterfinals, some notable names were eliminated earlier than expected. Players like Trupti Purohit, Anannya Basak and Jennifer Varghese caused short waves but failed to make any further progress.
With the doubles titles decided, attention now turns to the business end of the tournament. The quarter-finals in men’s and women’s singles follow on the penultimate day, while the championship culminates on the last day with three finals – including the mixed doubles.
Results:
Men’s Singles: Pre-Quarterfinals: Manav Thakkar (PSPB) vs Sanil Shetty (PSPB) 11-9, 11-3, 9-11, 13-11; Kushal Chopda (Mah) bt SFR Snehit (Telg) 13-11, 6-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-7; Harmeet Desai (PSPB) vs Aakash Pal (RSPB) 6-11, 11-6, 11-8, 9-11, 13-11; Ankur Bhattacharjee (WB) bt Sudhanshu Grover 9Del) 11-6, 11-7, 10-12, 11-13, 11-6; Raegan Albuquerque (Mah) bt Neil Mulye (Mah) 11-5, 14-12, 11-8; Ronit Bhanja (RSPB) vs Jash Modi (PSPB) 11-1, 11-3, 4-11, 11-8; H. Neho (Miz) vs. Divyansh Srivastava (PSPB) 4-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-9; Jeet Chandra (RSPB) vs Manush Shah (RBI) 11-7, 8-11, 11-7, 10-12, 11-4.
Men’s Doubles: Final: Jeet Chandra/Anirban Ghosh (RSPB) vs Ronit Bhanja/Preyesh Raj Suresh (RSPB) 11-8, 11-6, 10-12, 1-11, 11-8.
Semi-final: Jeet/Anirban vs MR Balamurugan/Siddhesh Pande (TN) 11-13, 11-4, 14-12, 11-7; Ronit/Preyesh vs Sanil Shetty/Divyansh Srivastava (PSPB) 7-11, 11-6, 13-11, 11-8.
Women’s Singles: Pre-Quarterfinals: Akula Sreeja (RBI) vs Shruti Amrute (Mah) 13-11, 11-7, 6-11, 11-9; Yashaswini Ghorpade (PSPB) by Trisha Gogoi (Asm) 111-7, 11-9, 11-4; Suhana Saini (Har) bt Trupti Purohit (Kar) 6-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-9; Sutirtha Mukherjee (RSPB) vs Avani Tripapthi (UP) 11-5, 11-6, 11-8; Syndrela Das (PSPB) bt Anannya Basak (iA&AD) 11-4, 11-4, 11-7; Yashini Sivashankar (TN) vs Anusha Kutumbale (RSPB) 11-6, 11-7, 6-11, 11-9; Divyanshi Bhowmick (Mah) bt Jennifer Varghese (Mah) 11-6, 5-11, 6-11, 11-9, 11-4; Diya Chitale (RBI) vs Tanishka Kalbhairav (March) 9-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-4.
Women’s Doubles: Final: Sutirtha Mukherjee/Kaushani Nath (RSPB) vs Avisha Karmakar/Nandini Saha (AAI) 11-9, 7-11, 11-8, 11-5.
Semifinals: Avisha/Nandini bt Aarti Chaudhury/Avani Tripathi (UP) 11-9, 11-8, 11-4; Sutirtha/Kaushani vs Frenaz Chipia/Fatema Kadri (Guj) 11-7, 11-5, 11-7.
