Indore: On the opening day of the third UTT National Ranking Table Tennis Championships at Abhay Prashal, the U-11 group phase produced a flurry of upsets, clean sweeps, and edge-of-seat deciders as 38 boys and 30 girls booked their main-draw berths.
In the girls’ section, Bengaluru’s Banhijita Chakraborty survived one of the day’s pulsating ties to top Group 8, shading Inaya of UP 3–2 (11-6, 9-11, 9-11, 11-3, 11-4) after the UP paddler had herself won a five-game (8-11, 10-12, 11-7, 11-8, 11-8) thriller earlier. Haryana’s Phalgun Gupta showed late-game poise in Group 9, pipping Samanvi Jahagirdar of Karnataka 3–2 (11-6, 11-5, 7-11, 10-12, 11-4) to clinch first place.
Maharashtra’s Sharanya Patwardhan delivered a statement win in Group 14, outlasting Samadrita Chatterjee of Bengal 3–2 with deuce-heavy bookends (10-12, 10-12, 11-8, 11-1, 9-11). There was similar grit from Gujarat’s Misha Lakhani, who came through two deciding games in Group 15 for a 3–2 (11-8, 16-14, 1-11, 6-11, 11-7) and 3–2 to top her pool. Maharashtra’s Shrinika Umekar also navigated a five-set opener in Group 18 to win 3-2, clinching the last three games before closing out the group with a sweep. At the other end of the spectrum, commanding 3–0 cruises from Sakshya Santhosh of Karnataka, Ari Debanna of Bengal, Aadya Baheti of Maharashtra, and Kritika Saibo, also from Bengal, underlined their class. At the same time, Adhira Chetan from Telangana and D Pratika from Tamil Nadu romped through three-and four-player groups without dropping a match.
The boys’ draw matched the drama. Telangana’s Vihaan Mudumbai edged a seesaw Group 12 opener 3–2 (11-6, 7-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-7) before sealing top spot with a sweep. Haryana’s Arnav did likewise in Group 13, squeezing past M Muhammad Rehan of Tamil Nadu 3–2 (11-5, 8-11, 11-7, 8-11, 11-8) and then cantering home 3–0 in his next round. Tamil Nadu’s Siddharth Adhithyan was forced the distance in Group 15, winning the contest 3–2 (11-3, 6-11, 11-6, 11-2, 11-9) to top the group, as did Madhya Pradesh’s Saakaar Bhargava in Group 17 (13-11, 5-11, 11-7, 7-11, 11-5). Maharashtra’s Naksh Mahajan prevailed in another nervy finish, 3–2 (9-11, 11-2, 8-11, 11-5, 11-4), to top Group 22, while Pranit Agrawal (UP) pulled out a 3–2 escape in Group 26 before completing the job 3–0 in the second round.
Elsewhere, the big guns will stamp their authority when they play their main draw matches later today. Concurrently, the U-13 Boys and Girls also began their campaign with group qualification matches.
With group hurdles cleared, the youngest field in the championships heads into the knockouts carrying both momentum and storylines—from iron-nerved deciders to statement sweeps—promising a lively scramble for medal spots.
