Indore, Mar 20 (PTI) Railways Sports Promotion Board’s (RSPB) Jeet Chandra and Anirban Ghosh held their nerve to emerge champions after a gripping five-game contest in the men’s doubles final of the 87th UTT Senior National Table Tennis Championships here on Friday.
Jeet Chandra and Anirban edged out teammates Ronit Bhanja and Preyesh Raj Suresh 3-2 in the match that took centre stage on an action-packed day, which delivered high-quality rallies and dramatic momentum swings as champions were crowned in two categories.
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 Airports Authority of India (AAI) 3-1.
Sutirtha and Kaushani combined consistency with sharp attacking play to close out the match in four games and lift the trophy.
After racing to a two-game lead in the men’s final, Jeet and Anirban were pushed to the brink as their opponents clawed back, but they regrouped just in time to seal the title.
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.
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.
Top women seed Akula Sreeja (RBI) was tested but prevailed over Shruti Amrute of Maharashtra in four games.
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 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) bt 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) bt 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) bt Jash Modi (PSPB) 11-1, 11-3, 4-11, 11-8; H. Neho (Miz) bt Divyansh Srivastava (PSPB) 4-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-9; Jeet Chandra (RSPB) bt Manush Shah (RBI) 11-7, 8-11, 11-7, 10-12, 11-4.
Men’s Doubles: Final: Jeet Chandra/Anirban Ghosh (RSPB) bt Ronit Bhanja/Preyesh Raj Suresh (RSPB) 11-8, 11-6, 10-12, 1-11, 11-8.
Semifinals: Jeet/Anirban bt M.R. Balamurugan/Siddhesh Pande (TN) 11-13, 11-4, 14-12, 11-7; Ronit/Preyesh bt Sanil Shetty/Divyansh Srivastava (PSPB) 7-11, 11-6, 13-11, 11-8.
Women’s Singles: Pre-quarterfinals: Akula Sreeja (RBI) bt Shruti Amrute (Mah) 13-11, 11-7, 6-11, 11-9; Yashaswini Ghorpade (PSPB) bt 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) bt 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) bt 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) bt Tanishka Kalbhairav (Mar) 9-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-4.
Women’s Doubles: Final: Sutirtha Mukherjee/Kaushani Nath (RSPB) bt 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 bt Frenaz Chipia/Fatema Kadri (Guj) 11-7, 11-5, 11-7. PTI AH AH UNG
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.