Gandhidham: Gujarat held their nerve in a pulsating contest to overcome Maharashtra 3-2 in the Under-15 Boys’ team final of the UTT 87th Inter-State Sub-Junior and Cadet National Table Tennis Championships at the M. P. Mittra Indoor Stadium in the Haresh Sangtani Sports Complex today.
The summit clash unfolded as a gripping back-and-forth battle, with Maharashtra drawing first blood through Nilay Pattekar, who dispatched Dev Bhatt in straight games. Gujarat responded swiftly as Vivaan Dave turned the tide, bouncing back from a slow start to defeat Prateek Tulsani in four games and restore parity.
With momentum hanging in the balance, the doubles rubber proved pivotal. The Gujarat pair of Dev and Vivaan combined effectively to outplay Nilay and Prateek in a tight four-game encounter, edging their side ahead in the crucial contest.
However, Maharashtra refused to back down. The left-handed Nilay once again rose to the occasion, prevailing in a dramatic five-game duel against Vivan to level the tie, despite squandering a few tie points, and push the final into a decisive fifth match.
In the ultimate showdown, Dev displayed remarkable composure under pressure. After dropping a closely fought opening game, he regrouped strongly to overpower Prateek, sealing the victory and sparking celebrations for Gujarat, the hosts, after a fiercely contested finale that lived up to its billing.
The semifinals last night produced two engaging contests, with Maharashtra and Gujarat advancing to the final after identical 3-1 victories built on strong comebacks and standout individual efforts.
Maharashtra found themselves trailing early when Aditya Das defeated Prateek in straight games (3-0), giving West Bengal the advantage. The tide turned through Nilay, who held his nerve in a tightly fought encounter to overcome Rishaan Chattopadhyay in a close battle (11-9, 11-9, 11-9) and bring his team level. Carrying that momentum into the doubles, Nilay and Prateek combined effectively to defeat the Bengal duo of Aditya and Rishaan 3-1, putting Maharashtra ahead. Nilay then capped off an impressive performance by winning the fourth rubber against Aditya 11-7, 11-9, 7-11, 11-4, sealing the tie and emerging as the decisive figure in Maharashtra’s victory.
In the other semifinal, Tamil Nadu also struck first as K. Akshay Bhushan registered a straight-games win over Dev (3-1). Gujarat, however, responded quickly with Vivaan defeating Akash Rajavelu 11-9, 11-5, 6-11, 11-9 to restore parity. The doubles match proved pivotal, with Dev and Vivaan delivering a strong performance to beat Akshay and J.N. Sanjey Arwindh 12-10, 6-11, 11-4, 11-2, giving Gujarat the lead. Vivaan then returned to the table to clinch the tie in a hard-fought five-game battle against Akshay, winning 12-14, 13-11, 11-8, 6-11, 11-5. His resilience in the decider ensured Gujarat’s place in the final, setting up an exciting clash with Maharashtra.
Meanwhile, the main draw of the Under-15 and Under-13 Boys’ singles events got underway, while the Under-11 Boys’ category has progressed to the pre-quarterfinal stage. In the Under-15 and Under-13 doubles, players have advanced to the round of 32 by the penultimate day.
As the boys wrap up their packed schedule tomorrow—with all finals on the card—the girls are set to arrive a day later, with their events commencing from March 28.
Results:
U-15 Youth Boys Team:Â Final: Gujarat bt Maharashtra 3-2 (Dev Bhatt lost to Nilay Pattekar 7-11, 6-11, 8-11, Vivan Dave bt Prateek Tulsani 3-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-6, Dev/Vivaan bt Nilay/Prateek 11-5, 11-9, 5-11, 12-10, Vivaan lost to Nilay 11-7, 9-11, 11-5, 4-11, 13-15, Dev bt Prateek 14-16, 13-11, 12-10, 11-2).
Semifinals: Maharashtra bt West Bengal 3-1 (Prateek lost to Aditya Das 7-11, 5-11, 8-11, Nilay bt Rishaan Chattopadhyay 11-9, 11-9, 11-9, Nilay/Prateek bt Aditya/Rishaan 11-6, 11-5, 9-11, 11-7, Nilay bt Aditya 11-7, 11-9, 7-11, 11-4); Gujarat bt Tamil Nadu 3-1 (Dev lost to K. Akshay Bhushan 6-11, 7-11, 5-11, Vivaan bt Akash Rajavelu 11-9, 11-5, 6-11, 11-9, Dev/Vivaan bt Akshay/J.N. Sanjey Arwindh 12-10, 6-11, 11-4, 11-2, Vivaan bt Akshay 12-14, 13-11, 11-8, 6-11, 11-5).
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