In Indore, on March 20, Jeet Chandra and Anirban Ghosh of the Railways Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) secured a hard-fought victory in the men's doubles final of the 87th UTT Senior National Table Tennis Championships, defeating their teammates Ronit Bhanja and Preyesh Raj Suresh 3-2.
The match, which proved to be a thrilling encounter, saw Jeet Chandra and Anirban emerge as champions after a five-game contest. Their performance was particularly impressive against their teammates.
In the women's final, Sutirtha Mukherjee and Kaushani Nath, also representing the Railways, defeated Avisha Karmakar and Nandini Saha of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) 3-1.
Sutirtha and Kaushani showcased consistent performance and sharp attacking play, ultimately winning the match 3-1.
Jeet and Anirban initially had a two-game lead in the men's final, but their opponents mounted a strong comeback, pushing them to the brink before they eventually clinched the title.
The men's singles pre-quarterfinals round saw a mix of high-quality rallies and upsets, with several top seeds facing tough competition.
With the stronger seeds progressing, the men's draw has opened up significantly, setting the stage for an unpredictable and fiercely contested quarterfinal round.
Top seed Manav Thakkar overcame a challenging match against teammate Sanil Shetty, winning in four games. However, several other seeded players also faced stiff competition. Snehit, Shah, and Srivastava were among those who were eliminated.
Harmeet Desai, incidentally, is the only surviving former national champion. He narrowly defeated Aakash Pal in a five-game thriller, while Ankur Bhattacharjee also emerged victorious after a hard-fought five-game encounter.
Kushal Chopda and Raegan Albuquerque of Maharashtra impressed, with Chopda winning a tight deciding game and Albuquerque advancing in straight games.
In other results, Ronit Bhanja and Jeet Chandra had strong wins, with Chandra defeating Manush Shah in a five-game battle. H. Neho of Mizoram also upset Divyansh Srivastava.
The women's singles pre-quarterfinals round saw largely predictable outcomes, with most top contenders progressing, although a few seeded players were eliminated in tightly contested matches.
Top women seed Akula Sreeja (RBI) prevailed over Shruti Amrute of Maharashtra in four games.
Yashaswini Ghorpade and Sutirtha Mukherjee had dominant performances, winning their matches in straight games against Trisha Gogoi (Assam) and Avani Tripathi (UP), respectively. Syndrela Das (PSPB) also had a comfortable victory.
Among the more competitive matches, Suhana Saini of Haryana and Yashini Sivashankar of Tamil Nadu had close encounters before securing their quarterfinal berths.
Divyanshi Bhowmick fought back from a deficit to overcome Jennifer Varghese in five games. Diya Chitale also recovered after losing the opening game to advance.
Despite the dominance of seeded players in the quarterfinals, some notable names were eliminated earlier than expected. Players like Trupti Purohit, Anannya Basak, and Jennifer Varghese caused brief upsets but could not progress further.
With the doubles titles decided, attention now turns to the final stages of the tournament. The quarterfinals in both the men's and women's singles events will take place on the penultimate day, while the championship will culminate with three finals, including the mixed doubles final, 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 (Del) 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) 11-7, 11-9, 11-4; Suhana Saini (Har) bt Trupti Purohit (Kar) 6-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-9; Sutirtha Mukherjee (RSPB) bt Avani Tripathi (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.
