Seeds tumble, but big guns survive PQF battles

Bengaluru (Team Newsbuddy): The Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium bore witness to a dramatic day of upsets and edge-of-the-seat thrillers at the UTT National Ranking Table Tennis Championships . Only eight of the 16 seeded men survived the carnage, making the road to the more brutal quarterfinals, to be played later this evening.

Top seed Harmeet Desai had a shaky start against Mizoram’s qualifier H. Jeho, dropping the opening game. But once Harmeet shook off the rust, he unleashed a torrent of winners to claim a 3-1 victory. The turning point came in the third game when Harmeet, staring down a couple of game points, steadied his nerves and flipped the momentum. Jeho, valiant but outpaced, was left gasping as Harmeet cruised through the fourth game, sealing his spot in style.

Meanwhile, second seed Ankur Bhattacharjee made light work of Tamil Nadu’s Preyesh Raj Suresh with a commanding 3-0 win, barely breaking a sweat. Manav Thakkar, the fourth seed, performed clinically against Assam’s Priyanuj Bhattacharyya, showing no mercy in a ruthless takedown.

The drama intensified with Payas Jain. The third seed faced early resistance from Maharashtra’s Jash Modi. The Maharashtra paddler, determined to rattle his higher-ranked opponent, snatched the second game after an intense deuce. But Payas found his rhythm just in time, neutralizing Jash’s fightback to clinch the match.

It wasn’t smooth sailing for everyone. Ronit Bhanja, seeded fifth, was pushed to the brink by Siddesh Pande of CRSB. Ronit stumbled in the opening game but clawed his way back to edge out Siddesh with nerve-wracking close margins. His confidence surged in the fourth game, where he delivered a strong finish to seal the match.

The day’s grittiest match belonged to former national champion Anthony Amalraj, who was locked in a five-game dogfight against eighth-seed Anirban Ghosh. Amalraj’s experience shone through as he held his nerve in a high-pressure decider, securing a 3-2 win.

In the women’s singles, seeds stumbled and qualifiers rose. Second seed Poymantee Baisya, third seed Swastika Ghosh, and Karnataka’s fourth seed Yashaswini Ghorpade, who represents PSPB, made it through, but not without tense moments. Yashaswini, in particular, faced a scare against Tamil Nadu’s spirited Selena Selvakumar. Trailing 0-4 in the fifth game after losing the first two, Yashaswini showed immense grit, clawing her way back to stop Selena in her tracks. Her resolute fightback, marked by sharp attacking play and forcing errors from her opponent, saw her cross the finish line with relief.

Adding to the list of shock upsets, former national champion Madhurika Patkar stunned fifth seed Pritha Vartikar 3-0, while Tamil Nadu qualifier Nithyashree Mani sent West Bengal’s Syndrela Das packing with a 3-1 scoreline.

Results:

Men’s Singles: Pre-quarterfinals: Harmeet Desai (PSPB) bt H. Jeho (Miz) 7-11, 11-5, 11-13, 11-6, 11-6; Anthony Amalraj (PSPB) bt Anirban Ghosh (RSPB) 11-7, 11-7, 9-11, 7-11, 11-8; SFR Snehit (IA&AD) bt Yashansh Malik (AAI) 11-5, 11-8, 11-4; Manav Thakkar (PSPB) bt Priyanuj Bhattacharyya (Asm) 11-6, 11-9, 11-8; Payas Jain (Del) bt Jash Modi (Mah) 12-10, 7-11, 11-8, 11-8; Akash Pal (RSPB) bt Raegan Albuquerque (AAI) 10-12, 11-8, 15-13, 11-8; Ronit Bhanja (RSPB) bt Siddhesh Pande (CRSB) 9-11, 11-4, 11-9, 11-6; Ankur Bhattacharjee (PSPB) bt Preyesh Raja Suresh (TN) 11-9, 11-8, 11-9.

Women’s Singles: Pre-quarterfinals: Nithyashree Mani (TN) bt Syndrela Das (WB) 11-7, 8-11, 11-8, 11-7; Reeth Rishya (PSPB) bt Kaushani Nath (RSPB) 11-6, 12-10, 11-7; Madhurika Patkar (PSPB) bt Pritha Vartikar (Mah) 14-12, 14-12, 11-5; Yashaswini Ghorpade (PSPB) bt Selenadeepthi Selvakumar (TN) 9-11, 5-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-5; Swastika Ghosh (AAI) bt Takeme Sarkar (RSPB) 11-7, 7-11, 11-4, 11-4; Taneesha Kotecha (Mah) bt Yashini Sivashankar (IA&AD) 11-7, 13-15, 12-10, 11-7; Nikhat Banu (RBI) bt Divya Deshpande (PSPB) 7-11, 11-6, 11-5, 8-11, 11-9; Poymantee Baisya (RSPB) bt M
ouma Das (PSPB) 11-8, 10-12, 11-13, 11-6, 11-8.