Snehit and Abhimanyu clinch men’s doubles title at Institutional TT Championships
SFR Snehit and Abhimanyu Mitra won the men’s doubles title at the 52nd Institutional Table Tennis Championships in Indore, while Kaushani Nath and Sampada Bhiwandkar claimed women’s doubles gold. Singles matches saw top seeds progress and several upsets in the women’s draw
Hyderabad: SFR Snehit and Abhimanyu Mitra of the Indian Audit and Accounts Department clinched the men’s doubles title at the 52nd Institutional Table Tennis Championships, edging out West Bengal’s Ankur Bhattacharjee and Shankhadip Das in a five-game final on the penultimate day at Abhay Prashal, Indore, on Monday.
In the women’s doubles, RSPB’s Kaushani Nath and Sampada Bhiwandkar claimed gold after overcoming teammates Sutirtha Mukherjee and Anusha Kutumbale in the all-Railways final, ensuring a one-two finish for the unit.
The men’s doubles final turned into a closely fought contest after Snehit and Abhimanyu surged ahead by taking the opening two games with controlled attacking play. The West Bengal pair responded strongly, raising the tempo and forcing errors to level the match. With the title on the line, the decider saw momentum swing both ways before the Indian Audit duo held their nerve in the closing exchanges to seal the championship.
In the women’s doubles final, Kaushani and Sampada established early control with sharp placement and coordination at the table. Sutirtha and Anusha briefly drew level by changing strategy in the second game, but the eventual winners regained command thereafter. Maintaining consistency and minimising unforced errors, Kaushani and Sampada closed out the match in four games to secure the gold medal.
Meanwhile, top seeds largely lived up to expectations as the men’s singles quarterfinals concluded, while the women’s draw continued to defy predictions with a flurry of upsets and tightly contested encounters.
In the men’s singles, top seed Manav Thakkar stamped his authority with a commanding straight-game win over Ronit Bhanja of RSPB, cruising through 11-8, 11-6, 11-3. Second seed Manush Shah was equally composed, edging Divyansh Srivastava of PSPB in three close games, 11-9, 11-9, 12-10.
Thirteenth seed SFR Snehit continued his steady run with a clinical 3-0 victory over Sudhanshu Grover of Delhi, while 14th seed Harmeet Desai showcased his experience to overcome teammate Jash Modi, winning 3-1.
The women’s singles quarterfinals saw a significant shake-up of the seedings, with only four seeds advancing to the semifinals. Eighth seed Syndrela Das produced a solid straight-games win over Avani Tripathi of Uttar Pradesh, prevailing 11-5, 11-9, 11-8. Fourth seed Swastika Ghosh recovered from losing the opening game to defeat Anusha Kutumbale of RSPB 4-11, 11-6, 11-9, 12-10 in a match marked by momentum swings.
Her teammate and third seed Sutirtha Mukherjee also had to work hard against Taneesha Kotecha of PSPB, eventually sealing a 13-11, 9-11, 11-5, 11-8 victory. The longest contest of the day saw 15th seed Sayali Wani of PSPB outlast Maharashtra’s Divyanshi Bhowmick in a five-game thriller, clinching the decider 11-8 after an absorbing battle.
