India’s under-19 girls edge through to knockouts in Asian Youth TT Championships
India's under-19 girls team edged out North Korea and Uzbekistan 3-2 to top Group 4, while the boys cruised through with dominant wins at the 29th Asian Youth Table Tennis Championships
Hyderabad: India’s under-19 girls team battled through two intense group-stage matches against North Korea and hosts Uzbekistan, ultimately topping Group 4 and securing a place in the second-stage knockouts at the 29th Asian Youth Championships 2025 in Tashkent on Thursday.
The girls edged out both teams with identical 3-2 victories in tightly contested encounters.
In contrast, the under-19 boys enjoyed a smoother path in Group 1, recording commanding 3-0 wins over Nepal and Saudi Arabia.
Suhana opened against North Korea’s Gyong Young Kye but stumbled early, losing the first two games before mounting a comeback to win 9-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-7. Syndrela Das then fell to Rim Hong Jo in a close battle (11-4, 9-11, 11-13, 11-13), levelling the tie.
Taneesha Kotechan restored India’s lead by defeating Ung Rye Pang 11-5, 11-7, 9-11, 12-10. However, Rim struck again for North Korea, overcoming Suhana 7-11, 11-6, 11-2, 11-6, leaving the outcome in Syndrela’s hands. Rising to the occasion, the Kolkata girl clinched the decider in under 20 minutes, dispatching Gyong 11-6, 11-3, 11-4.
Facing hosts Uzbekistan next, India fell behind as Taneesha lost to Asel Erkebaeva 11-7, 12-14, 6-11, 5-11. Suhana (11-6, 11-2, 11-4) and M. Hansini (11-5, 11-8, 11-3) brought India back into contention with clinical wins over Sogdiana Ibodullaeva and Shoira Kodirova. Asel levelled the tie once again with a hard-fought 3-2 triumph over Suhana (7-11, 11-5, 10-12, 11-6, 11-7). With the match finely poised, Taneesha delivered a decisive performance, defeating Sogdiana 11-3, 11-6, 11-3 to seal the tie and the top spot in the group.
The under-19 boys, comprising P B Abhinand, Ankur Bhattacharjee, and Priyanuj Bhattacharyya, made short work of their opponents. They comfortably defeated Saudi Arabia’s Ali Alther, Moaid Arif, and Abdullah Alhenaki, followed by a similar clean sweep against Nepal’s Himal Bista, Prabesh Basnet, and Gananjaya Dahal. Abhinand, though briefly tested by Ali in the third game and Himal in his second match, saw off both challenges as the team cruised through.
In the under-15 boys’ category, India posted dominant 3-0 and 3-1 victories over Macau and Thailand, respectively, and will face Kazakhstan tomorrow, where a win would put them on top of the group.
Meanwhile, the under-15 girls began well with a 3-0 verdict over Saudi Arabia but narrowly lost 2-3 to Singapore. They will meet Kyrgyzstan tomorrow in a crucial tie that could secure their qualification for the main draw.
