Kanpur, Aug 16 (PTI) West Bengal emerged as the standout state in the Under-11 section, as the qualifying rounds of the UTT National Ranking Table Tennis Championships showcased a strong display of young talent at The Sports Hub indoor stadium here on Sunday.
West Bengal led the overall U-11 qualification chart with 11 players — five boys and six girls — earning places in main draw singles. Maharashtra followed with nine qualifiers, comprising five boys and four girls, while Tamil Nadu, Haryana and Delhi each produced seven qualifiers each.
In the U-11 boys’ singles, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu led the way with five qualifiers each. Haryana and Delhi each had three, while Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh each produced two qualifiers.
Maharashtra’s successful players were Rajvardhan Tiwari, Naksh Mahajan, Adhiraj Chauhan, Nirmit Kute and Aarav Bapat. West Bengal’s five qualifiers were Debanshu Chakraborty, Arjun Sen, Mayukh Sarkar, Arik Dutta and Deepam Sardar.
Tamil Nadu’s qualifiers were A R Sundaramurty, M Nibhish, Akhil Vinodh, T K Akshath and M Muhammad Rehan.
Among the more closely contested encounters, Pondicherry’s M. Tasvanth and Tamil Nadu’s M. Nibhish engaged in a five-game battle, with Tasvanth winning 8-11, 13-15, 11-9, 11-6, 11-3. Tamil Nadu’s Akhil Vinodh also survived a thrilling contest against West Bengal’s Sarbajeer Sarkar, prevailing 11-7, 7-11, 11-9, 5-11, 17-15 to advance.
Odisha’s Mohan Sahoo missed qualification despite defeating West Bengal’s Avishek Bag 7-11, 7-11, 11-5, 13-11, 11-5. The remaining qualifiers largely progressed without major difficulty.
The U-11 girls’ section was dominated by West Bengal, which sent six players into the main draw. Haryana, Delhi and Maharashtra each had four qualifiers, while Karnataka had three. Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Gujarat each had two qualifiers.
West Bengal’s six qualifiers were Kritika Saibo, Shivangi Mishra, Ayushika Deb, Arrietri Pal, Asmita Paul and Varenya Sarkar.
Three matches of the girls’ category in the third round went down to the wire. Karnataka’s Nithila Rakshitha overcame West Bengal’s Riyanshi Das 9-11, 11-7, 11-6, 6-11, 11-7 after the Bengal player fought back to level the match.
Assam’s Srijanee Pathak defeated Kerala’s Eva Mariya 6-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-4, 11-9, while Gujarat’s Prisha Parekh beat Madhya Pradesh’s Tavishka Sunder 10-12, 8-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-8. However, neither could make the main draw.
With 32 players qualifying for each U-11 singles main draw, the results highlight the depth of competition among the country’s youngest ranking aspirants.
The U-11 main draw begins on Monday, while the U-13 boys’ and girls’ qualifying rounds have also begun. PTI AH AH DDV
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