Few surprises in the UTT national-ranking Table Tennis

The UTT National Ranking Table Tennis Championships in Vadodara saw smooth wins for top seeds, but also shock exits, with Bengal paddlers pulling off upsets in the women’s singles second round

Hyderabad: The main draw events at the UTT National Ranking Table Tennis Championships at the SAMA Indoor Stadium Complex in Vadodara saw a mix of smooth progressions, hard-fought battles, and a few early surprises on Saturday.

While the top eight seeds in the men’s singles sat out the opening round thanks to byes, the next tier of seeds — ranked ninth to sixteenth — got an early taste of competition. Far from being sluggish, they came out sharp, using the first round to shake off any rust and stamp their presence on the event.

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In the women’s singles, however, the schedule was more forgiving. All 16 seeded players and 29 qualifiers enjoyed a direct pass into the second round, bypassing the first-round grind entirely. Yet, the absence of early play did not guarantee smooth sailing for all, as a couple of higher seeds soon discovered.

Reigning national champion Manush Shah was promoted to the top seed following the last-minute withdrawal of Manav Thakkar, who pulled out for medical reasons. Shah will open his title defence later tonight, carrying the weight of local expectations.

Meanwhile, former national champion Harmeet Desai, seeded 16th, wasted little time in making his move. Playing with trademark composure, Desai brushed aside qualifier Lubhit Saini (FCI) in straight games 11-7, 11-9, 11-9 to enter the second round.

In the women’s singles, the second round brought its share of drama. Fifth seed Reeth Rishya suffered an unexpected exit at the hands of Bengal’s Mun Mun Kundu, who combined quick reflexes with confident counter-hitting to secure a 5-11, 3-11, 11-8, 7-11 victory. Reeth had briefly raised hopes of a comeback by taking the third game, but Kundu held her nerve to close out the match.

Sixth seed Syndrela Das also fell in a nail-biter, despite leading 2-1 against Prithoki Chakraborty. The Bengal paddler clawed her way back, taking the final two games by identical 11-9 margins to seal a memorable upset.

The UTT National Ranking Table Tennis Championships in Vadodara saw smooth wins for top seeds, but also shock exits, with Bengal paddlers pulling off upsets in the women’s singles second round.

Top seed Diya Chitale and No. 2 Yashaswini Ghorpade advanced with ease, joined by Swastika Ghosh, Sutirtha Mukherjee, Madhurika Patkar, Anusha Kutumbale, Ananyha Chande, Sayani Wali, Jennifer Varghese, Yashini Shivashankar, Selena Deepti, Nikhat Banu, and Suhani Saini — all moving into the third round without serious alarms.