Left proves right as Riana seizes maiden crown

86th UTT Cader and Sub-Junior National Table Tennis Championship

Indore (Team Newsbuddy): Champions don’t wait for opportunities—they create them. Riana Bhoota proved precisely that at the UTT 86th Cadet and Sub-Junior National Championships, clinching her maiden singles national title in the Youth Girls Under-15 category at Abhay Prashal Indoor Hall, marking the end of the Girls events.

Facing Tamil Nadu’s Ananya Muralidharan in the final, Riana overcame a brief setback in the second game to dominate the contest, winning 3-1. Her sharp counters and relentless endurance in long rallies left Ananya struggling for answers. The third game slipped away from the TN paddler, and with it, her hopes of a comeback.

Riana’s victory mirrored Jennifer Varghese’s recent feat at the Junior and Youth Nationals in Vadodara—both players securing singles glory despite not being part of Maharashtra’s team championship-winning squad.

Though Ananya fell short in singles, she will return home with pride having bagged one gold (doubles) and two silver medals, including one from the team event.

In a gripping U-15 singles semifinal, Maharashtra’s left-handed Riana Bhoota edged out state-mate Divyanshi 3-2. After a sluggish start, Riana turned the tables with aggressive shot-making and controlled play. Divyanshi briefly revived her chances by clinching a tense deuce game 12-10, but Riana’s tactical use of angles sealed her victory in the decider.

In the second semifinal, Ananya overcame a minor setback in the second game but stayed focused to wrap up a commanding 3-1 win, booking her place in yet another final.

Tanishka Cruises to U-13 Title

Karnataka’s Tanishka Kalbhairav needed less than 25 minutes to demolish Bengal’s Sreosree Chakraborty 3-0 in a one-sided U-13 final. Tanishka kept it simple—applying relentless pressure while capitalising on Sreosree’s mounting errors. Earlier, Delhi’s Akansha Singhal and Bengal’s Shariqa Sahid settled for bronze after faltering in the semifinals.

Keshika’s maiden U-11 crown

Maharashtra’s Keshika Purkar dominated the U-11 final, overpowering Rajasthan’s Aarana Sahney 3-0 to claim her first title. Aarana had ousted Assam’s Divija Paul in the semifinals, but against Keshika, she found no answers.

Despite her strong record in national-ranking events, Divija struggled at the crucial moment. However, she had earlier shown her class, toppling Gujarat’s Dhimahi Kabrawala in the quarters. Dhimahi, impressive throughout the main draw, had stunned Bengal’s eighth-seeded Riparna Shah 3-2 in the round of 32 before dispatching UP’s higher-ranked Pehel Gupta 3-1 in the pre-quarters.

TN duo strikes gold

Tamil Nadu’s Ananya Muralidharan and S. Bhuvanidha made up for their team event disappointment by clinching the U-15 doubles title in a thrilling 3-2 win over Maharashtra’s Divyanshi Bhowmick and Naisa Rewaskar. The TN duo raced to a 2-0 lead. But it faced trouble soon as Maharashtra fought back to force a decider. In the final game, Ananya took control and dismantled the opposition to seal the gold.

PSPBA holds its nerve in final

PSPBA’s Shaanvi and Pragnya let a 2-0 lead slip against Tamil Nadu’s Poojaasri and Varnica, but recovered just in time to clinch the U-13 doubles gold with a 3-2 win.

Meanwhile, Kerala’s N.K. Harshitha and S. Srisha ended their state’s medal drought, reaching the U-13 doubles semifinals. They fought hard against TN’s Poojaasri and Varnica, pushing them to five games before settling for bronze.

Results Team:

Youth Girls Singles U-15: Final: Riana Bhoota (Mah) bt Ananya Muralidharan (TN) 11-7, 8-11, 11-4, 11-8.

Semifinals: Riana bt Divyanshi Bhowmick (Mah) 2-11, 11-9, 11-7, 10-12, 11-2; Ananya bt Naisa Rewaskar (Mah) 11-2, 8-11, 11-9, 11-7.

Doubles: Final: Ananya Muralidharn/S. Bhuvanidha (TN) bt Divyanshi Bhowmick/Naisha Rewaskar (Mah) 13-11, 11-9, 6-11, 7-11, 11-6.

Semifinals: Divyanshi/Naisa bt Sushrutha Anand/Kamarpu Saanvi (Telg) 13-11, 11-6, 11-9; Ananya/S. Bhuvanidha bt Ankolika Chakraborty/Aarushi Nand (WB) 8-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-8.

Youth Girls Singles U-13: Final: Tanishka Kalbhairav (Kar) bt Sreosree Chakraborty (WB) 11-2, 11-8, 11-6.

Semifinals: Tanishka bt Akansha Singhal (Del) 5-11, 11-4, 11-5, 11-3; Sreosree bt Shariqa Shahid (WB) 11-5, 11-8, 11-9.

Doubles: Final: Sri Saanvi/Pragnya (PSPBA bt B. Varnica/O.P.Ppoojaasri (TN) 13-11, 11-5, 7-11, 7-11, 5-11.

Semifinals: Pragnya/Shaanvi M. bt Tanishka Kalbhairav/Mihika Udupa (Kar) 14-12, 11-9, 10-12, 11-7; Varnica Poojaasri bt N.K. Harshitha/S. Srisha (Ker) 11-6, 7-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-8.

Youth Girls Singles U-11: Final: Keshika Purkar (Mah) bt Aarna Sahney (TTFI-1) 11-6, 11-6, 7-11, 7-11, 11-8.

Semifinals: Aarna bt Divija Paul (Asm) 11-7, 11-5, 11-9; Keshika bt Avni Janghu (Har)
11-7, 14-12, 7-11, 11-8.