Vadodara: Top seed Aditya Das of West Bengal had to survive a late scare before edging past unseeded Nilay Pattekar of Maharashtra 3-2 in a tense Under-15 Boys’ final, while second seed Ankolika Chakraborty, also from West Bengal, produced a commanding 3-0 win over top seed Naisha Rewaskar of Maharashtra in the Girls’ title clash at the first UTT National Ranking Table Tennis Championships at the SAMA Indoor Stadium. The two victories capped off campaigns that could not have been more different.
The finals in both sections lacked the fiery intensity seen in earlier age-group clashes, but Naisha’s defeat will linger, forcing her to regroup before the next outing.
Aditya, consistent and businesslike through the main draw, seemed on course for a routine win after racing to a 2-0 lead. But Nilay, playing without the pressure of expectations, fought back brilliantly, snatching the next two games to take the match into a decider. The final game was a nail-biter—Nilay even held match point at deuce—but Aditya held on to his nerve, saving it and converting his second opportunity to seal the title.
Ankolika’s victory, by contrast, was a model of control and efficiency. Scheduled to fly from Ahmedabad to Jordan for a WTT event, she had her matches rescheduled with the cooperation of officials and opponents. Choosing to play rather than concede proved the right call.
Against Naisha, the West Bengal paddler was in complete command, capitalising on her rival’s unforced errors to pocket the opening game. She held her spirit in a tight second game to lead 2-0, then closed out the match swiftly in the third as Naisha failed to mount any real resistance.
Naisha’s form in the final was a far cry from her semifinal, where she narrowly avoided an upset at the hands of another Bengal player, Sreejani Chakraborty, who levelled 2-2 but could not finish the job. In the Boys’ semifinals, Akash Rajavelu of Tamil Nadu fell just short against Himon Mondal, who saved his best for the decider, winning it 11-4 after overturning a 2-1 deficit.
With the Under-15 battles concluded, the tournament moves towards its finale tomorrow, with four title clashes in the U-13 and U-11 Boys’ and Girls’ categories set to bring the curtains down.
Results:
U-15 Youth Boys singles: Final: Aditya Das (WB) bt Nilay Pattekar (Mah) 11-5, 11-9, 9-11, 7-11, 13-11.
Semifinals: Aditya bt Vivaan Dave (Guj) 11-8, 11-9, 11-7; Nilay bt Himon Mondal (WB) 8-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-6, 11-9.
Quarterfinals: Aaditya bt Trijal Vohra (Pun) 3-0, Vivaan bt Aarav Acharya (TTFI-1) 3-0, Nilay bt Prateek Tulsani (Mah) 3-2, Himon bt Akash Rajavelu (TN) 3-2.
U-15 Youth Girls singles: Final: Ankolika Chakraborty (WB) bt Naisha Rewaskar (Mah) 11-6, 11-9, 11-5.
Semifinals: Naisha bt Sreejani Chakraborti (WB) 12-10, 11-7, 9-11, 6-11, 11-3; Aankolika bt Aadya Baheti (Mah) 11-2, 9-11, 11-8, 11-7.
Quarterfinals: Naisha bt Aarya Redkar (PSPBA) 3-0, Sreejani bt Shreya Dhar (WB) 3-1, Aadhya bt Sri Shaanvi (PSPBA) 3-1, Ankolika bt Krishvi Arora (Pun) 3-0.
