2nd National Ranking TT C’ships - U-11 qualifiers: Telangana’s Jatin Jairam secures spot in main draw

Panchkula: Young paddlers displayed immense resilience on the opening day of the second National Ranking Table Tennis Championships at the Tau Devi Lal Indoor Hall on Tuesday, with several rising stars pulling off hard-fought comeback victories to secure main-draw berths in the Under-11 categories.

In the U-11 boys’ qualifiers, Telangana’s Jatin Jairam booked his spot by clinching a nail-biting decider 12-10 against Rigved Saha, alongside compatriot Srikara Varshik and Assam’s Nulutpal Gohain, who also advanced following hard-fought five-game encounters.

Uttar Pradesh’s Viraaj Singh headlined the day’s action by staging a brilliant recovery from two games down to edge Tamil Nadu’s Aarav Aj in a tense five-game thriller. Goa’s Aarish Shaikh similarly survived a gruelling five-game battle against West Bengal’s Ryan Karmakar.

Other notable qualifiers included West Bengal’s Sarabjeet Sarkar and Parthiv Das, who overcame stiff resistance from T Veera Sathvik and M. Tasvanth. The U-11 girls’ qualifiers witnessed matching drama as Anika Maheshwari, Arrietri Pal, and Shivangi Mishra all overturned early deficits after dropping the first two games to secure their places in the main draw. Close encounters also favored Dhadkan Tanna, Vedanshi Bolishetty, and Riddhi Singh, who all held their nerve in deciding fifth games.

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