Table Tennis National Ranking Championships: Sarthak, Avisha emerge victorious in age-group categories

Delhi table tennis player Sarthak Arya took just 25 minutes to send Gujarat paddler Arya Kataria packing to win the U-13 boys final at the UTT National Ranking Championships in Dehradun on Thursday.

The U-13 boys final turned out to be a one-sided affair, with Sarthak establishing a sizeable lead in all four games with little response from the Gujarat table tennis player. So much so, the final became a cakewalk for the Delhi paddler who took home an enhanced cash prize of ₹20,160.

In contrast, the U-13 girls final was a competitive affair with Bengal table tennis player Avisha Karmakar stamping her authority on the game to beat Riana Bhoota of Maharashtra 4-3 in a thriller.

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After a 3-1 lead, the Bengal table tennis player was pushed into the corner when Riana staged a fine recovery to level the score, taking the fifth and sixth games.

However, in the decider, she lost steam when Avisha started attacking from the flanks to win with a lot to spare.

In the semi-finals, Delhi’s Sarthak Arya posted a comfortable 4-0 win over PSPB Academy’s Sahil Rawat. Sarthak’s percentage game helped him emerge victorious over Sahil.

Young table tennis players prove their worth

In the youth boys U-11 category, the final was between two young Tamil Nadu table tennis players.

Top-seed Akash Rajavelu emerged the winner, beating Sathyanaranan Karmeghakannan 11-8, 11-8, 11-9 in less than 20 minutes.

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Ankolika Chakraborty, the top seed in the girls' category, faced little resistance from Gujarat’s Krisha Patel, winning the title 3-0.

In the semi-finals, Akash Rajavelu dropped the first two games but picked up momentum in the third and continued with the flow to defeat Gujarat table tennis player Vivaan Dave 3-2.

Vivaan, who was positioned well initially, failed to stop the top-seed from Tamil Nadu once he had the measure of the Gujarat boy.

In contrast, second-seeded Sathyanarayanan Karmeghakannan downed Viren Patil from Delhi in straight games, but not before some initial struggles as Viren extended him in the first two games.

Gujarat’s Krisha Patel beat Delhi table tennis player Aradhya Dhingra 3-1, after establishing a 2-0 lead. The Delhi paddler played better in the third game but could not repeat it in the next as she threw in the towel early, managing only two points.

For top-seed Ankolika Chakraborty, it was a cakewalk against Tanisha Kalbhairav of Karnataka, who lost in straight games.

Results:

Boys U-13: Final: Sarthak Arya (Del) bt Arya Kataria (Guj) 11-3, 11-5, 11-6, 11-7

Girls U-13: Final: Avisha Karmakar (Ben) bt Riana Bhoota (Mah) 7-11, 12-10, 11-5, 15-13, 8-11, 9-11, 11-5

Boys U-11: Final: Akash Rajavelu (TNTTA) bt Sathyanarayanan Karmeghakannan (TTTA) 11-8, 11-8, 11-9

Girls U-11: Final: Ankolika Chakraborty (Ben) bt Krisha Patel (Guj) 11-9, 11-8, 11-7