UTT 65th National School Games TT Championships: Gujarat's Nandish upsets national champion Adarsh in QF

Vadodara, January 6: Gujarat boy Nandish Halani produced a sensational performance to cause a major upset at the UTT 65th National School Games Table Tennis Championships, under the aegis of School Games Federation of India (SGFI), when he defeated national champion and India No. 2 Delhi's Adarsh Chetri 3-2 in the U-17 boys singles pre-quarterfinals at Sama Indoor Sports Stadium in Vadodara on Monday (January 6).

However, Nandish's impressive run in the tournament came to an end after he suffered 11-5, 11-8, 9-11, 11-8 defeat at the hands of CISCE's Rajveer Shah in the quarter-finals in the evening. Nandish had entered the tournament as a qualifier.

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In a nail-biting contest between tournaments, two of title contenders in U-17 boys events -- Delhi's Payas Jain and Gujarat's Chitrax Bhatt -- national champion Payas recovered well from the first-set loss to wrap up a hard-fought quarter-final 13-11, 9-11, 11-4, 8-11, 11-8. Second-seeded Payas will now face Rajveer in the semi-finals on Tuesday. Semi-finals of both boys and girls in U-17 and U-19 will take place on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, another upset came in the U-19 girls' event when Delhi's Tisha Kohli stunned top-seeded Aditi Sinha of Maharashtra 3-11, 6-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-6 in a five-set thriller.

The competition, which is jointly organised by UTT and Table Tennis Association of Baroda (TTAB). is supported by the Sports Authority of Gujarat (SAG), Gujarat State Table Tennis Association (GSTTA) and Vadodara Mahanagar Seva Sadan (VMSS). This championship is sponsored by IOCL, ONGC, GAIL and GACL.

Results (singles quarter-finals):

U-17 girls: Vanshika Bhargaava (DLI) bt Tamanna Gulshan (HRN) 13-11, 3-11, 7-11, 11-4, 14-12; Aafrien Murad (GUJ) bt Trupti Purohit (KNT) 8-11, 11-3, 9-11, 11-9, 11-5; DK Vedhalakshmi (TN) bt Lakshita Narang (DLI) 11-6, 5-11, 11-8, 11-6; Munmun Kundu (WB) bt Namna Jayswal (GUJ) 11-2, 12-14, 11-5, 11-7.

U-17 boys: Yashansh Malik (DLI) bt Samvak Kashvad (IBSSO) 13-11, 7-11, 11-3, 11-7; Aniket Choudhary (WB) bt Khelendrajit Yengkhom (RAJ) 11-6, 11-6, 11-8; Rajveer Shah (CISCE) bt Nandish Halani (GUJ) 11-5, 11-8, 9-11, 11-8; Payas Jain (DLI) bt Chitrax Bhatt (GUJ) 13-11, 9-11, 11-4, 8-11, 11-8.

U-19 girls: Tisha Kohli (DLI) bt Aditi Sinha (MHR) 3-11, 6-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-6; Tejal Kamble (MHR) bt Ankita Patwardhan (MHR) 11-6, 13-11, 9-11, 9-11, 11-7; Samruddhi Kulkarni (MHR) bt Kavisha Parekh (GUJ) 11-7, 11-5, 11-5; Vidhi Shah (MHR) bt J Maria Ancy (TN) 12-10, 11-4, 14-16, 4-11, 11-9.

U-19 boys: Shrevaans Goel (DLI) bt Agniv Gohain (ASM) 11-5, 12-10, 9-11, 11-8; Abir Roy (WB) bt Vansh Singhal (CBSE) 11-2, 11-7, 11-5; Akash Pal (WB) bt Vidit Desai (GUJ) 11-6, 11-6, 11-9; Wesley Do Rosario (HRN) bt Tamal Ballav (WB) 11-7, 5-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-6.

Source: Media Release