Dehradun: If today’s action in the Boys’ team event at the UTT 87th Inter-State Junior and Youth National Table Tennis Championships is anything to go by, even the semifinals—or the final—may struggle to match the sheer intensity of the quarterfinals. All four ties at the New Multipurpose Hall went right down to the wire, with no team able to assert clear dominance.
Top seeds Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, along with Assam and Maharashtra, edged into the semifinals—but only just. Each of them survived nail-biting 3–2 encounters against PSPBA, Gujarat, Delhi, and Haryana, respectively, to stay alive in the competition. The winners return later today for the semifinals.
The evening belonged to several standout performers. Tamil Nadu’s P.B. Abhinand delivered two crucial singles victories, while Priyanuj Bhattacharyya (Assam) and Punit Biswas (West Bengal) mirrored that effort for their sides. Maharashtra’s campaign, meanwhile, saw a mixed outing from Kushal Chopda, who split his matches, but Oishik Ghosh rose to the occasion when it mattered most. After dropping one match earlier, Ghosh held his nerve in the decider to steer Maharashtra through.
Haryana, however, will rue a missed opportunity. Their top player, Duklan Vatsal, played the third rubber, a strategically wrong decision. Yet, Nikunj Attri appeared set to seal the tie when he surged to a 7–2 lead in the fourth game, but Ghosh staged a remarkable comeback to snatch it 13–11. Riding that momentum, he comfortably claimed the fifth game, knocking Haryana out of medal contention.
Delhi’s challenge, too, faded despite Arjav Gupta’s valiant effort. His two singles triumphs against Neil Mulye and Kushal Chopda kept his team in the hunt, but the lack of support from Atherva Gupta and Bhaskar Singh ultimately proved costly.
Earlier, when Assam’s Divyaj Rajkhowa Roy dropped the opening rubber to Sarthak Arya in a gruelling 15-13, 7-11, 5-11, 4-11 battle, Odisha appeared firmly on course for a quarterfinal berth. However, Assam’s top paddler Priyanju Bhattacharyya had other ideas, drawing level with a composed win over Sai Kiran Pradhan.
The momentum briefly swung back to Odisha when Drishtanta Borah failed to convert his chances against Jigyansu Sahoo, who prevailed 11-5, 11-8, 11-8, putting Assam under pressure. But Priyanju rose to the occasion once again, defeating Sarthak 11-8, 5-11, 11-9, 11-6 in a crucial fourth rubber to keep Assam alive. Divyaj then sealed the comeback in style, shutting out Sai Kiran 11-5, 11-9, 11-7.
Delhi, meanwhile, had a shaky start as Atherva Gupta went down to Chandigarh’s Vishal Garg 7-11, 9-11, 6-11. Arjav Gupta turned the tide with a spirited comeback win over Pritish Sood (9-11, 11-4, 11-6, 11-3), before Bhaskar Singh edged out Vadya Chawla in a tense five-game contest (11-4, 11-1, 8-11, 7-11, 15-13). Arjav then wrapped up the tie with a straight-games victory over Vishal.
Haryana proved too strong for Jammu and Kashmir, cruising to a 3-0 win. Duklan Vatsal set the tone by overcoming Ritvik Gupta in a five-game opener, while Siddhant Kataria and Nikunj Aattri comfortably dispatched K. Nishcal Saiyam and Pratham Raiana.
Top seeds Tamil Nadu and West Bengal advanced without fuss, registering 3-0 wins over Telangana and Himachal Pradesh, respectively. Maharashtra, PSPB Karnataka, and Gujarat also progressed, with Gujarat posting a 3-1 victory over NCOE.
Results:
Under-19 Boys: Quarterfinals: Tamil Nadu bt PSPBA 3-2 (M.R. Balamurugan lost to Sahil Rawat 11-7, 10-12, 8-11, 13-11, 5-11, P.B. Aabhinand bt Ronald Sarkar 7-11, 11-5, 11-3, 11-5, S.K. Mehan lost to Rushikesh Jagtap 4-11, 5-11, 7-11, Abhinand bt Sahil 3-11, 11-4, 11-6, 11-6, Balamurugan bt Ronald 9-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-7); Assam bt Gujarat 3-2 (Divyaj Rajkhow Roy lost to Vivaan Dave 11-6, 6-11, 9-11, 10-12, Priyanuj Bhattacharyya bt Dhyey Jani 12-10, 11-6, 11-8, Swapnanil Dutta lost to Janmejay Patel 7-11, 11-13, 11-5, 9-11, Priyanuj bt Vivaan 11-5, 11-5, 11-4, Divyaj bt Dhyey 11-8, 8-11, 9-11, 11-4, 11-5); Maharashtra bt Delhi 3-2 (Kushal Chopda bt Atherva Gupta 11-4, 7-11, 11-5, 11-9, Neil Mulye lost to Arjav Gupta 12-10, 1-1, 9-11, 5-11, Ishan Khandekar bt Bhaskar Singh 11-5, 11-6, 11-5, Kushal lost to Aarjav 8-11, 9-11, 6-11, Neil bt Aatherva 12-10, 5-11, 11-9, 12-10); West Bengal bt Haryana 3-2 (Punit Biswas bt Nikunj Attri 11-3, 11-5, 11-6, Oishik Ghosh lost to Siddhant Kataria 3-11, 5-11, 11-9, 12-14, Priyanshu Karmakar lost to Duklan Vatsal 5-11, 11-7, 8-11, 9-11, Punit bt Siddhant 11-8, 11-5, 11-3, Oishik bt Nikunj 12-14, 5-11, 11-6, 13-11, 11-5).
Pre-quarterfinals: Tamil Nadu bt Telangana 3-0; PSPBA bt Karnataka 3-1; Gujarat bt NCOE 3-1; Assam bt Odisha 3-2; Maharashtra bt Rajasthan 3-0; Delhi bt Chandigarh 3-1; Haryana bt J and K 3-0; West Bengal bt Himachal Pradesh 3-0.
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