Kangra: P.B. Abhinand of Tamil Nadu claimed the Youth Boys Under-17 title at the UTT National Ranking Championships, defeating Segal Singh of Manipur 3-1 in the final held today at the Rainbow Khelo India Residential Academy, while In the Girls' final, Dista Roy beat Nandini Saha 3-0 to make it another one-sided affair.
Abhinand, a seasoned international player, started sluggishly but gained momentum in the second game, approaching the match with greater perfection. After securing the first game, he gave Segal little room to recover, leading to a decisive victory as Segal lost two consecutive games.
In the final, Dista Roy overcame an early challenge from Nandini Shah in an all-Bengal clash. After a tough start and a deuce game, Roy pulled ahead and won comfortably as Shah’s performance faltered.
In the Youth Boys Under-17 semifinals, Tamil Nadu’s P.B. Abhinand defeated West Bengal’s Punit Biswas in straight games. Abhinand led early and, despite a strong fight from Biswas in the third game, clinched victory after saving a game point.
In the second semifinal, Segal Singh of Manipur faced a tough challenge from Sudhanshu, who had been playing exceptionally well and had initially taken a 2-1 lead. Despite Sudhanshu’s efforts to disrupt Singh’s game and showcase his skills as a player, Singh’s mental fortitude prevailed. Singh managed to level the score and then took control of the match, defeating Sudhanshu decisively.
In the Youth Girls Under-17 singles, Dista Roy advanced to the final by defeating Sayanika Maji. Nandini Saha also progressed by overcoming Riana Bhoota 3-1.
The semifinals of the Youth Girls Under-19 singles saw significant upsets as the third-seed Suhana Saini from Haryana, along with fifth-seed Subhankrita Datta and sixth-seed Syndrela Das, were eliminated. However, other seeded players, particularly the top two seeds, advanced to the quarterfinals. Notably, Pranati P. Nair from Kerala made a remarkable advance to the last eight by defeating Tanmayee Saha from Haryana with scores of 16-14, 11-8, and 11-7. Pranati’s victory was highlighted by her perseverance and tactical play, especially as she won the first game on her fifth game point.
Most seeded players moved on in the Youth Boys' pre-quarterfinals. However, a few seeds were disappointed after their exit. Notably, unseeded Middela Arush Reddy of Telangana advanced after defeating Rohith Shankar of Karnataka and Harkunwar Singh of Punjab.
Third-seed G. Sathiyan and top women’s seed Poymantee Baishya were eliminated in the singles of the men’s and women’s sections, respectively.
Results:
Youth Under-17 Boys: Final: P.B. Abhinand (TN) bt Segal Singh (MNP) 7-11, 11-4, 11-4, 11-5.
Semifinals: P.B. Abhinand bt Punit Biswas (WB) 11-5, 11-7, 13-11; Segal Singh bt Sudhanshu Maini (AAI) 7-11, 11-3, 7-11, 11-4, 11-4.
Quarterfinals: Sudhanshu bt Priyanuj Bhattacharyya (Asm) 3-0, Segal Singh bt Aayush Tanna (Guj) 3-1, Punit Biswas bt Atherva Gupta (Del) 3-1, P.B. Abhinand bt Sarthak Arya (Del) 3-0
Youth Under-17 Girls: Final: Dista Roy (WB) bt Nandini Saha (WB) 12-10, 11-6, 11-5.
Semifinals: Dista Roy bt Sayanika Maji (AAI) 11-8, 11-8, 11-9; Nandini Saha bt Riana Bhoota (Mah) 11-6, 7-11, 11-8, 11-7.
Quarterfinals: Riana Bhoota bt Pratha Pawar (Guj) 3-2, Nandini Saha bt Kavya Bhatt (Mah) 3-1, Dista Roy bt Himanshi Chowdhary (Kar) 3-0, Sayanika Maji bt Jennifer Verghese (Mah) 3-1.
