Thiruvananthapuram: The qualification rounds for the UTT National Ranking Table Tennis Championships Under-11 Boys and Girls saw the leading contenders smoothly advance to the main draw at the Jimmy George Indoor Stadium.
After three rounds of group play, girls from Assam, Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal secured their spots in the knockout stage, while players from Karnataka, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, and Kerala also made their cut.
Three standout matches in the final qualification round highlighted the drama and determination required to make it through. Delhi’s Jenya, placed in Group 15, showed remarkable resilience against Aadhya Madhusudhana from Karnataka. After dropping the third game, Jenya bounced back with strong performances in the following games, eventually winning 6-11, 14-12, 7-11, 11-6, 13-11 to secure her place in the knockout rounds.
In Group 16, Uttar Pradesh’s Ananya Singh found herself trailing 0-2 against Dhanwita Pattankudi of Karnataka. However, Ananya mounted a spirited recovery, winning 11-13, 10-12, 11-6, 11-8, 11-6, capitalising on her opponent’s mistakes.
Meanwhile, in Group 18, Kerala’s S. Sachidev came from behind to defeat Manvi Ghosh of West Bengal, winning 11-8, 7-11, 8-11, 11-5, 11-9 after being down 1-2, booking her spot in the next round.
The group stage saw the top players advancing with ease, with the top 14 girls earning byes into the knockout rounds. Assam's Divija Paul, the highest seed in the girls’ draw, led the charge, setting herself up as a serious contender for the title.
In the boys’ category, Ariv Dutta from the National Centre of Excellence (NCOE) lived up to expectations by winning his group and sailing smoothly to the main draw. Dutta is now seen as one of the favourites to win, with a potential showdown against West Bengal’s Gem Mahalanabish in the final. A total of 26 boys advanced to the next stage, with the top four group leaders receiving byes. Tamil Nadu’s H. Tanish, seeded third, secured his position through a tiebreaker against Yash Vishwas, as both had similar ranking points. Yash followed him as the next seed.
Bengal contributed four players to the knockout stage, while three from Tamil Nadu also made it. Kerala’s R. Adi Seshan impressed with a dominant performance, first defeating Akhil Vinod of Tamil Nadu 11-4, 11-1, 11-2, and then overcoming Andhra Pradesh’s Jeenapalli Vaibhav in a thrilling comeback. After losing the first game 8-11, Seshan won 11-5, 11-7, 11-7 to book his spot in the knockout rounds.
As the U-11 boys and girls completed their qualification rounds and entered the main draw, the U-13 boys and girls qualification rounds kicked off. The U-15 qualification rounds will begin tomorrow, promising more action in this exciting tournament.
