Chennai, February 13: Tamil Nadu's Under-19 Youth Boys have their feet firmly planted near the doorstep of the knockout stage in the UTT 84th edition of the Inter-State Youth and Junior National Championships at the Nehru Indoor Stadium here today.

Drawn in Group F with three other teams, the boys from the host state logged four points with two identical wins of 3-0, first against Chhattisgarh and then against Kerala, to take the top position in the group.

In Group A, B, C and D, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and Manipur have ensured their entry into the second stage with two wins each, as has Karnataka from the bottom group. However, Telangana occupied the top slot, pushing Assam behind in Group G.

Tamil Nadu had no problem whatsoever, as Preyesh Raj scored an emphatic 11-5, 11-8, 11-4 against Karan Malhotra in the opening tie. Consolidating their position, Varun Ganeshs thumped Ramji Kumar 11-5, 11-6, 11-5 to put his side 2-0 up. Though P.B. Abhinand dropped his first game in the third rubber against Vishal Dekate, the Tamil Nadu boy emerged strong to win 8-11, 11-3, 11-3, 11-9 in their first round.

Continuing their form, Tamil Nadu beat Kerala 3-0 after shuffling their players to test them in a different order in the second round. Abhinand defeated Amir Afthab 11-9, 9-11, 11-5, 11-6, and left-handed Preyesh disposed of Adiya Joseph 11-5, 11-2, 11-4 before Varun Ganesh completed the job with 11-3, 12-10, 11-6 verdict over Ansel Jake John.  

But the best match on the day was played by Haryana, despite ending their campaign as the losing side. First, the Haryana boys lost to Petroleum Sports Promotion Board's Academy 3-1. Except for Rishab Mayank, who beat Arya Kataria 11-8, 12-8, 12-10 in the second tie, none of the Haryana lads exerted as much pressure to overcome the PSPBA challenge. Yet, one must admit that Siddhant Kataria took Dhananjay Singh to the distance in a fantastic fightback. Dhananjay won 12-14, 11-9, 11-8, 10-12, 11-7. Rishab made one last effort in the fourth tie and, after levelling the score 2-2, lost (8-11, 11-8, 10-12, 11-8, 8-11) the decider to concede their match to PSPBA.

In their next round, Manipur's Khelndrajit Yengkhom took less than 25 minutes to shut out Rishab 11-6, 13-11, 11-3, but Saikat Sutradhar posted his first win, beating Segal Singh 11-9, 11-4, 11-6 to restore parity for Haryana before Siddhant Kataria put their side 2-1 up when Siddhant beat Naorem Singh 11-3, 14-12, 11-3.

But Saikat lost to the attacking Khelndrajit 12-14, 11-7, 5-11, 8-11, providing Maninipur with a lifeline. Segal Singh wrapped it up by beating Rishab 11-9, 11-7, 11-3.

Meanwhile, the group qualifications in the Under-19 and Under-17 Boys events also got underway.   

Group Results (Rounds 1 & 2):

Group A: West Bengal bt Himachal Pradesh 3-1; West Bengal bt Odisha 3-0.

Group B: Uttar Pradesh bt Daman & Diu 3-0; Uttar Pradesh bt Madhya Pradesh 3-1.

Group C: Delhi bt Andhra Pradesh 3-0; Delhi bt Chandigarh 3-0.

Group D: Maharashtra bt Jharkhand 3-0; Maharashtra bt Punjab 3-0.

Group E: PSPBA bt Haryana 3-1; Manipur bt Bihar 3-1; Manipur bt Haryana 3-2; PSPBA bt Bihar.

Group F: Tamil Nadu bt Chhattisgarh 3-0; Kerala bt Uttarakhand 3-1; Tamil Nadu bt Kerala 3-0; Chhattisgarh bt Uttarakhand 3-0.

Group G: Telangana bt J & K 3-0; Assam bt Pondicherry 3-1; J & K bt Pondicherry 3-0; Telangana bt Assam 3-1.

Group H: Karnataka bt Goa 3-1; Gujarat bt Rajasthan 3-1; Karnataka bt Gujarat 3-0; Rajasthan bt Goa 3-1.