Rajgir: The lineup for the Boys’ and Girls’ quarterfinals at the Under-18 Khelo India Youth Games table tennis singles was finalised today, and as expected, the favourites proceeded through their group stage matches at Hall No. 1 on Day 2. The knockout rounds will begin the day after tomorrow, while the doubles competitions will start tomorrow.
In the Boys’ section, the group qualifiers included P.B. Abhinand and Arush Midela Reddy (Group 1), Priyanuj Bhattacharyya and Naman Bhatnagar (Group 2), M.R. Balamurugan and Punit Biswas (Group 3), and Kushal Chopda and Harshit Kumar (Group 4).
Among the Girls, M. Hansini and Sukrati Sharma (Group 1), Kavya Bhatt and Sayani Panda (Group 2), Divyanshi Bhowmick and Diya Brahmachary (Group 3), and Vanshika Mudgal and B.R. Nandini made it to the next stage.
While most results followed the script, a few tightly contested matches added drama to the proceedings. Arush Midela Reddy secured the second qualification spot after edging past Debraj Bhattacharjee 3-2 in a thrilling encounter. Even top-seeded Abhinand had to dig deep, especially in the third game against Debraj, where the Tamil Nadu lad finally prevailed after squandering multiple match points.
On the Girls’ side, Maharashtra’s Kavya Bhatt faced a stern test in the morning session against UP’s Avani Tripathi, eventually scraping through 3-2. In another nail-biter, Divyanshi Bhowmick squandered several match points in the fourth game against her UP opponent, who took it 22-20, but Divyanshi held her nerve to clinch the decider.
The biggest upset of the day came in Group 4 when Vanshika Mudgal stunned top-ranked Hardee Patel of Maharashtra 3-1 in her second-round match, claiming the group’s top spot in the process.
Results: (All 2nd & 3rd Rounds):
Youth Boys U-18:
Group 1: P.B. Abhinand (TN) bt Arush Reddy (Telg) 11-9, 11-4, 11-2, Debraj Bhattacharjee (WB) bt Farias Aaron (Goa) 7-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-7; P.B. Abhinand bt Debraj Bhattacharjee 12-10, 11-7, 17-15, Arush Reddy bt Farias Aaron 11-7, 12-10, 11-6.
Group 2: Priyanuj Bhattacharyya (Asm) bt Naman Bhatnagar (HP) 11-7, 11-7, 11-6, K. Segal Singh (MNP) bt Varun Kashyap (Kar) 8-11, 9-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-6; Priyanuj Bhattacharyya bt Varun Kashyap 11-6, 11-8, 11-7, Naman Bhatnagar bt K. Segal Singh 3-11, 11-6, 12-10, 11-5.
Group 3: M. R. Balamurugan (TN) bt Punit Biswas (WB) 11-6, 11-9, 11-7, Vishal Garg (Chd) bt Vihaan Gawand (Mah) 11-4, 12-10, 14-12; Punit Biswas bt Vihaan Gawand 11-4, 11-5, 11-13, M.R. Balamurugan bt Vishal Garg 11-6, 11-5, 11-6.
Group 4: Kushala Chopda w/o Oishik Ghosh (WB) 3-0, Harshit Kumar (BHR) bt Dhairya Tandel (DND) 11-7, 11-3, 11-9; Kushal Chopda bt Dhairya Tandel 11-5, 11-8, 11-5, Naaman Bhatnagar w/o Oishik Ghosh 3-0.
Youth Girls U-18:
Group 1: M. Hansini (TN) bt Saanvi Dargan (Har) 12-10, 11-6, 11-8, Sukrati Sharma (Mah) bt Saanvi Dargan (Har) 13-11, 9-11, 11-8, 9-11, 13-11.
Group 2: Kavya Bhatt (Mah) bt Avani Tripathi (UP) 11-8, 8-11, 11-4, 20-22, 11-8, Sayani Panda (WB) w/o Anuska (DND) 3-0; Kavya Bhatt w/o Anuska Chauhan 3-0, Sayani Panda bt Avani Tripathi 9-11, 11-5, 7-11, 11-4, 11-7.
Group 3: Divyanshi Bhowmik (Mah) bt Diya Brahmachary (Del) 11-6, 4-11, 11-4, 6-11, 11-5, Dipannita Saha (WB) bt Nilnanjana Sharma (Bhr) 11-7, 11-4, 11-6; Diya Brahmachary bt Nilanjana Sharma 11-1, 11-4, 11-3, Divyanshi Bhowmick bt Dipannita Saha 11-5, 11-2, 11-7.
Group 4: Vanshika Mudgal (Del) bt Hardee Patel (Mah) 11-6, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8, Nandini R. Balaji (TN) bt Vidushi Dhanai (UKD) 11-5, 11-7, 11-7; Hardee Patel bt Vidushi Dhanai 11-7, 11-3, 11-9, Vanshika Mudgal bt B.R.Nandini 11-5, 6-11, 13-11, 11-6.
