Indore, January 19: Soham Mukherjee of West Bengal defeated Teshub Dinesh of Karnataka 3-1 to win the Under-15 Boys title in the 85th UTT Sub-Junior and Cadet National Table Tennis Championships and hoist the trophy at the Abhay Prashal Indoor Stadium today.
Soham was quick, precise and finished well, which ultimately hastened his win in the final. Teshub played well in parts, but several unforced errors contributed to his downfall as he lacked consistency.
The Karnataka boy was not his usual self, while Soham was more focused. Though he dropped the second game to Teshub, the West Bengal paddler picked up steam in the third and continued with it to complete the task.
In the first semifinal, Soham emerged as the best and beat Arya 3-1. Though the two shared a game each, Soham outplayed his teammate Arya in the third and fourth to enter the final.
In the second, Karnataka’s Teshub kept cool and a calm head to overcome Debraj Bhattacharjee in a tense match, the first three games finishing on extended points. The lanky left-hander showed maturity to win the fourth and fifth to earn his spot in the final.
Aditya Das, who played match after match, was at ease in the Under-13 Boys’ final when he beat Akash Rajavelu of Tamil Nadu 3-0. There was hardly any challenge from the latter as a determined Aditya added to the doubles title he had won earlier in the day. His ball sense and presence of mind in placements surpassed his age, and it was visible time and again in the final.
In the semifinals, Aditya found a resilient Aarav and the match got dragged on to the last game. Aditya won 3-2, especially in the fifth game on extended points. On the other hand, Akash had it easy against Veer Balmiki, despite dropping a game in the second semi-final.
Ashwajit wins crown
M. Ashwajith of Tamil Nadu showed consistency throughout, including in the final, to become the Under-11 Boys National champion. His encounter with Delhi’s Dhrityaman Pandey proved easy, as he defeated his rival in straight games.
But Arav Dutta of NCOE stretched him in the semifinal. The players won their alternate games and kept themselves until the decider, which Ashwajith won. Even Talasila Sai Manavith of Andhra Pradesh gave anxious moments to Dhrityaman, but the Delhi boy with steady nerves overcame him in the last two games.
Double for Bengal
In the all-Bengal final of the U-15 Boys’ doubles, Soham Mukherjee and Rupam Sardar defeated Aditya Das and Debraj Bhattacharjee 3-1 for the title. In the Under-13 Boys’ doubles final, West Bengal’s Aditya combined with Himon Mondal to ensure they won the title. In the process, they beat Vatsal Duklan and Viren Patil 3-2. Unfortunately, the PSPBA duo failed to cash in on the 2-0 lead and went down to their rivals.
Results:
U-15 Boys Singles: Final: Soham Mukherjee (WB) bt Teshub Dinesh (Kar) 11-5, 5-11, 11-6, 11-8.
Semi-finals: Soham bt Arya Sarthak (PSPBA) 13-11, 5-11, 11-8, 11-7; Teshub bt Debraj Bhattacharjee (WB) 14-12, 16-18, 13-11, 7-11, 11-9.
Doubles final: Soham Mukherjee/Rupam Sardar (WB) bt Aditya Das/Debraj Bhattacharjee (WB) 11-4, 11-6, 10-12, 11-6.
U-13 Boys Singles: Final: Aditya Das (WB) bt Akash Rajavelu (TN) 11-6, 12-10, 11-5.
Semi-finals: Aditya bt Aarav Acharya (Rajasthan-TTFI-1) 11-9, 8-11, 6-11, 11-9, 14-12; Akash bt Veer Balmiki (UP) 11-6, 11-7, 12-14, 11-9.
Doubles final: Aditya Das/Himon Mondal (WB) bt Vatsal Duklan/Viren Patil (PSPBA) 8-11, 12-14, 11-9, 11-2, 11-5.
U-11 Boys Singles: Final: M. Ashwajith (TN) bt Dhrityaman Pandey (Del) 11-7, 11-5, 11-4.
Semi-finals: M. Ashwajith bt Arav Dutta (NCOE) 11-3, 12-10, 12-14, 9-11, 11-8; Dhrityaman bt Talasila Sai Manavith (AP)8-11, 9-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-8.
