Dehradun, December 11: Suhana Saini of Haryana claimed the Under-17 Girls singles crown after beating her India teammate Pritha Vartikar from Maharashtra 4-1 in the UTT National Ranking Championships at the Multipurpose Hall here today.

In the Boys final, Ankur Bhattacharjee from West Bengal defeated K.J. Aakash from Karnataka 4-1. The final failed to rise any din as the West Bengal paddler had a firm control against his rival.

Fresh from three bronze medal-winning acts at the Portugal Youth World Championships, the Haryana girl displayed a gritty show yet again to outfox the Maharashtra girl. Although she dropped the first game, Pritha was no match for her in the final as she failed to come to terms.

In the semifinals, Suhana Saini defeated Sampada Bhiwadkar of Maharashtra 4-2, and Pritha Vartikar followed suit with a similar score-line against Tamil Naadu’s Shriya Anand.

Suhana and Prithika went with the flow and overpowered their rivals. However, they were in some trouble. Despite dropping two games each, the eventual finalists had the fluency going for them to bounce back.

In the Boys semis, Ankur Bhattacahrjee snuffed out a strong challenge from Maharashtra’s Jash Modi, winning the match 4-2 to enter the final. On the other hand, KJ Aakash from Karnataka struggled before overcoming strong resistance from UP’s Divyansh Srivastava. The Karnataka boy won 4-3.

Balamurugan, Sandika win

Balamurugan Muthu from Tamil Nadu lifted the Under-15 Boys singles title after beating Saikat Sutradhar of Haryana 4-1 in the final. West Bengal’s Sandika Bhattacharjee defeated state mate Saanvi Roy 4-2 to win the Girls' crown.

Balamurugan ran up a 2-0 lead. Though Saikat pulled one back, the Tamil Nadu boy didn’t waste any time, winning the next two to emerge the champion. In the Girls’ final, Sandika surged past Saanvi with a 2-0 lead. But Saanvi, following a fine recovery, levelled the score. Yet, Sandika pulled it off taking the fifth and sixth games and romping home the winner.

In the semifinals, Balamurugan Muthu proved he was way ahead of his state-mate and top seed P.B. Abhinand. He inched closer in two of the games but could not deny him a 4-0 triumph. However, it was not easy for Haryana’s Saikat Sutradhar. He dropped the first game against Assam’s Priyanuj Bhattacharyya but struck back to lead 3-1. The Assam boy snatched another game, but Saikat wrapped up the match 4-2.

In the clash of two qualifiers, Saanvi Roy from West Bengal emerged as the winner, but not before UP’s Avani Tripathi ran her too close. Down 1-2 down, Avani gained momentum to lead 3-1. However, the Bengal girl recovered well to win the last two games and enter the final. Sandika Bhattacharjee, also from Bengal, accounted for another UP girl, Suhani Mahajan in straight games.

RESULTS:

Youth Boys U-17: Final: Ankur Bhattacharjee (WB) bt K.J. Akash (Kar) 8-11, 11-9, 11-8, 13-11, 11-5.

Semi-finals: Ankur Bhattacharjee bt Jash Modi (Mah) 11-4, 11-2, 5-11, 11-4, 7-11, 11-8; K.J. Aakash (Kar) bt Divyansh Srivastava (UP) 7-11, 2-11, 11-6, 12-10, 12-14, 11-9, 11-6.

Youth Girls U-17: Final: Suhana Saini (Har) bt Pritha Vartikar (Mah) 6-11, 11-8, 11-2, 11-3,11-7.

Semi-finals: Suhana Saini bt Sampada Bhiwandkar (Mah) 11-9, 14-16, 13-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-5; Pritha Vartikar bt Shriya Anand (TTTA) 11-8, 11-5, 8-11, 11-13, 11-6, 11-5.

Youth Boys U-15: Final: Balamurugan Mutu (TNTTA) bt Saikat Sutradhar (Har) 11-9, 11-5, 9-11, 11-9, 11-8.

Semi-finals: Balamurugan Muthu bt P.B. Abhinand (TTTA) 11-7, 11-9, 11-6, 11-9; Saikat Sutradhar bt Priyanuj Bhattacharyya (Asm) 10-12, 11-8, 11-6, 11-4, 5-11, 11-6.

Youth Girls U-15: Final: Sandika Bhattacharjee (WB) bt Saanvi Roy (WB) 11-7, 11-1, 6-11, 10-12,11-8, 11-8.

Semi-finals: Saanvi Roy bt Avani Tripathi (UP) 8-11, 11-5, 11-7, 8-11, 10-12, 11-5, 11-8; Sandika Bhattacharjee bt Suhani Mahajan (UP) 11-13, 11-6, 11-6, 11-8.