Kanpur: Delhi’s Payas Jain and West Bengal’s Syndrela Das claimed the men’s and women’s singles titles respectively as the singles competition at the UTT National Ranking Table Tennis Championships concluded at the Sportz Hub in Kanpur.
Payas defeated PSPB’s Manav Thakkar 4-1 in the men’s singles final, while Syndrela overcame Maharashtra’s Divyanshi Bhowmick 4-2 to take the women’s crown. Syndrela also completed a double by winning the Youth Girls U-19 Singles title.
Payas Jain beats Manav Thakkar for men’s singles crown
Third seed Payas produced a strong performance against second seed Manav in the men’s singles final, winning 11-3, 9-11, 11-5, 12-10, 11-8.
Payas made a flying start with an 11-3 win in the opening game before Manav responded 11-9 in the second. The Delhi paddler regained control by taking the third game 11-5 and then edged a closely fought fourth 12-10.
With the momentum firmly on his side, Payas closed out the contest 11-8 in the fifth to secure the title.
Payas had earlier beaten RSPB’s Jeet Chandra 4-1 in the semifinal. He won 11-8, 11-5, 11-8, 1-11, 11-7 to book his place in the title clash.
Manav also came through a competitive semifinal against Haryana’s Ankur Bhattacharjee, winning 12-10, 13-11, 11-5, 9-11, 11-8.
Syndrela Das overcomes Divyanshi Bhowmick
The women’s singles final saw Syndrela recover after losing the opening game to defeat Divyanshi 9-11, 11-8, 11-8, 5-11, 11-7, 11-9.
Divyanshi took the first game 11-9, but Syndrela responded by winning the next two 11-8, 11-8. The Maharashtra paddler fought back with an 11-5 win in the fourth to make it 2-2.
Syndrela regained the initiative in the fifth, winning 11-7, before holding her nerve in a tight sixth game to seal the championship 11-9.
Her semifinal against PSPB’s Swastika Ghosh was one of the closest matches of the tournament. Syndrela prevailed 4-3, winning 11-9, 5-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-9.
She had trailed 4-7 in the deciding game before producing a composed finish to win 11-9.
Divyanshi reached the final after beating PSPB’s Yashaswini Ghorpade 11-4, 11-6, 11-4, 9-11, 11-2 in the other semifinal.
The championships also highlighted the growing challenge from younger players, with several established names falling before the title matches. Top seeds Manush Shah and Yashaswini Ghorpade were among the prominent players to miss out on the singles titles, while qualifier Sreeja Akula reached the pre-quarterfinals.
Priyanuj Bhattacharrya wins U-19 boys’ title
RSPB’s Priyanuj Bhattacharrya defeated Tamil Nadu’s P.B. Abhinand 4-3 in a seven-game Youth Boys U-19 Singles final.
Abhinand took the opening game 11-9 before Priyanuj responded with 11-5 and 11-3 wins. Abhinand levelled the contest by taking the fourth 11-8 and then edged a marathon fifth game 23-21.
Priyanuj responded strongly
