Sahil Rawat and Syndrela Das win U-17 table tennis titles in Vadodara

PSPB Academy’s Sahil Rawat and West Bengal’s Syndrela Das clinched the Under-17 Youth Boys and Girls singles titles at the first UTT National Ranking Table Tennis Championships in Vadodara, with Sahil winning easily and Syndrela staging a spirited comeback in her semifinal

Hyderabad: Sahil Rawat of the PSPB Academy and West Bengal’s Syndrela Das emerged as the Under-17 Youth Boys and Girls champions at the first UTT National Ranking Table Tennis Championships, ending their campaign with victories that were as contrasting as they were compelling at the Vadodara SAMA Indoor Stadium.

For Sahil, the final proved almost anticlimactic. Facing Jammu and Kashmir’s Ritvik Gupta, who was riding high after his giant-killing act against top seed Sarthak Arya of Odisha in the quarterfinals, the PSPB Academy paddler expected a stern challenge. Instead, he was in cruise control. Ritvik, sharp and aggressive in his previous matches, appeared out of rhythm, surrendering the first two games without a fight.

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If Sahil’s victory was a demonstration of dominance, Syndrela’s was a testament to grit and staying power.

In the Girls final, the West Bengal paddler faced Maharashtra’s in-form Kavya Bhatt, a left-hander whose crisp counter-attacking and poise under pressure had carried her through the draw.

Her semifinal was even more dramatic. Against Tamil Nadu’s Ananya Muralidharan, Syndrela trailed 0-2 and faced two match points in the third game. Ananya, just a point away from victory twice, faltered, allowing Syndrela to snatch the game 14-12.

Results:

U-17 Youth Boys singles: Final: Sahil Rawat (PSPBA) bt Ritvik Gupta (J&K) 11-2, 11-0, 11-8.
Semifinals: Ritvik bt Dhairya Rawat (PSPBA) 11-8, 11-9, 11-8; Sahil bt M Nikhil Menon (TN) 11-8, 11-13, 11-4, 8-11, 11-8.

U-17 Youth Girls singles: Final: Syndrela Das (WB) bt Kavya Bhatt (Mah) 7-11, 11-4, 9-11, 11-5, 11-4.
Semifinals: Syndrela bt Ananya Muralidharan (TN) 6-11, 8-11, 14-12, 11-7, 11-4; Kavya bt Divyanshi Bhowmick (Mah) 11-9, 11-5, 11-6.