Prateek Tulsani, Tanishka Kalbhairav win UTT National Ranking titles

Maharashtra’s Prateek Tulsani clinched the Under-15 boys’ title at the UTT National Ranking Table Tennis Championships, while Karnataka’s Tanishka Kalbhairav won the girls’ crown after a five-game battle against West Bengal’s Saturya Banerjee in Kanpur on Thursday.

Hyderabad: Maharashtra’s Prateek Tulsani produced a commanding display of authority to clinch the Under-15 Boys title at the UTT National Ranking Table Tennis Championships at the Sportz Hub in Kanpur on Thursday, needing less than 25 minutes to get past West Bengal’s Rajdeep Biswas in straight games in the final.

Tulsani never allowed the left-handed Biswas to settle into the contest, controlling the exchanges from the outset and keeping the Bengal paddler under constant pressure. The Maharashtra youngster’s crisp attacking play and consistency ensured the final never became
the prolonged battle the stage might have suggested. He wrapped up the contest in emphatic fashion to take the gold medal and lift the
glittering championship trophy.

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In contrast, the Under-11 Girls final was a far more absorbing contest, with Karnataka’s Tanishka Kalbhairav showing the composure and determination to defeat West Bengal’s resilient Saturya Banerjee 3-2.

The Bengal girl appeared to have seized control after taking a 2-1 lead, but her Karnataka rival refused to surrender the initiative. At a crucial juncture, Tanishka ramped up her play, fought back to level the contest, and forced a deciding fifth game.

With momentum still favouring Saturya, Kalbhairav produced her best table tennis when it mattered most. She maintained her composure in the decider, shut out the Bengal challenge, and secured a hard-earned victory to claim the Under-11 girls crown.

The results: Youth Boys Under-15: Final: Prateek Tulsani (Mah) bt
Rajdeep Biswas (WB) 11-6, 11-9, 11-9.
Semifinals: Prateek bt Rishaan Chattopadhyay (WB) 13-11, 11-8, 11-6;
Rajdeep bt Trijal Vohra (Pun) 14-12, 13-11, 7-11, 6-11, 13-11.

Youth Girls Under-15: Final: Tanishka Kalbhairav bt Saturya Banerjee
(WB) 9-11, 13-11, 7-11, 11-6, 11-6.

Semifinals: Tanishka bt Shariqa Shahid (WB) 11-5, 11-9, 13-11; Saturya
bt B. Varnica (TN) 13-11, 7-11, 12-10, 11-8.