TT Nationals: Nandini stuns defending champ Poymantee, Sreeja survives a scare

Defending champion Poymantee Baisha faced a shock exit from the women’s singles at the 86th Senior National and Inter-State Table Tennis Championships in Surat on Friday (January 24).

Also read: PSPB, RSPB win team titles in Surat

West Bengal’s Nandini Saha upset eighth seed Poymantee of Railways Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) 3-2 (6-11, 11-8, 3-11, 12-10, 11-6) in the Round of 64.

Nandini's comeback

Poymantee was leading 2-1 but Nandini staged a remarkable comeback to take the fourth game 12-10, and later sealed the match with an 11-6 scoreline in the fifth and deciding game.

Also read: Exclusive interview with India TT coach Massimo Costantini

"It feels good to beat the defending champion. It was little bit tough for me to make a comeback in the match. I tried hard and was pushing myself and my coach was helping me very well," Nandini told The Federal after the match.

The top seeds in the women’s singles had received first-round byes and faced played in the Round of 64.

Top seed Sreeja Akula survived a scare from Gujarat’s Pratha Pawar to win 3-2 (11-6, 10-12, 7-11, 12-10, 12-10). Trailing 1-2, Sreeja rallied to take the fourth game 12-10 and sealed the decider with the same score at the Pandit Dindayal Upadhyay Indoor Stadium.

Fifth seed Taneesha Kotecha was also stretched before beating Railways’ Sagarika Mukherjee 3-2 in a fiercely contested encounter.

Abhinand exits

In the men’s singles, 15 of the 16 seeded players progressed to the Round of 32 but 13th seed P B Abhinand of Tamil Nadu exited.

Abhinand, playing without his coach, fell to Arjav Gupta of Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) Academy 1-3. Abhinand struggled to find his rhythm after squandering two game points in the opener. Although he showed glimpses of a fightback with a dominant third game, Arjav held his nerve to triumph 13-11, 11-8, 5-11, 11-9.

Second seed Ankur Bhattacharjee endured a nail-biter against Assam’s Priyanuj Bhattacharyya, scraping through with a 3-2 victory. The decider was a rollercoaster, with the players tied 5-5 before Ankur surged to a 10-5 lead. Priyanuj launched a late rally, forcing Ankur to take a timeout at 10-7. The brief pause worked in Ankur’s favour, as he regrouped to close the match and secure a spot in the next round.

Sathiyan, Harmeet advance

The clash between 16th seed Jeet Chandra of Railways and Telangana’s Mohammad Ali kept spectators on edge. Jeet narrowly escaped a potential upset, emerging victorious in a hard-fought 3-2 encounter.

Delhi’s 12th seed Yashansh Malik had a shaky start against Gujarat’s Ayaz Murad, with the local paddler pushing him hard in the first two games. Yashansh regained control in the third and eventually wrapped up the match 3-1.

Mizoram’s H Jeho showcased resilience against Haryana’s Sarthak Gandhi. After trailing 1-2, Jeho mounted a comeback and edged out Sarthak in a tense decider, winning 11-9 to seal a 3-2 victory.

G Sathiyan, the men’s top seed also advanced to the Round of 32. Joining him was his teammate and local hero Harmeet Desai.

Important results

Men’s singles: Second round: (1) G. Sathiyan (PSPB) beat Chinmaya Somaiya (Maharashtra) 11-7, 9-11, 11-5, 11-9; Agniv Bhaskar Gohain (Assam) beat Sougata Sarkar (LIC) 6-11, 11-8, 3-11, 11-8, 11-6; (16) Jeet Chandra (RSPB) beat Mohammed Ali (Telangana) 11-2, 9-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-5; (9) A Amalraj (PSPB) beat Rounak Mazumder (Bengal) 8-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-5; Abhimanyu Mitra (Indian Audit & Accounts Department (IA&AD)) beat Kushal Chopda (Maharashtra) 11-9, 11-9, 9-11, 11-13, 11-5; S. Karthikeyan (Tamil Nadu) beat Shankhadip Das (Bengal) 7-11, 13-11, 11-8, 6-11, 12-10; H Jeho (Mizoram) beat Sarthak Gandhi (Haryana) 8-11, 11-4, 4-11, 11-6, 11-9; Bodhisatwa Chaudhary (Bengal) bt Rohith Shankar (Karnataka) 11-6, 7-11, 10-12, 11-6, 11-8; Siddhesh Pande (Maharashtra) beat S Preyesh Raj (TN) 12-14, 11-2, 11-3, 11-7; (2) Ankur Bhattacharjee (PSPB) beat Priyanuj Bhattacharyya (Assam) 11-9, 9-11, 11-8, 6-11; 11-7.