Vadodara, January 18: Punit Biswas from West Bengal and Subhankrita Datta of the National Centre for Excellence (NCOE), Kolkata, claimed the Under-15 Boys and Girls titles in the UTT National Ranking Championships at the Sama Indoor Complex here today.

Punit beat Umesh Kumar of Tamil Nadu 4-2, while Subhankrita blanked out Sayanika Maji from Delhi 4-0.

The Bengal boy began badly and trailed 1-2, and the Tamil Nadu boy could not sustain the momentum he gained in the first and third games and lost the fourth. The match swung in favour of Punit, who capitalised on the negative points his opponent from Chennai offered aplenty. In the fifth and sixth games, Umesh did well, but Punit took away the match and the title with a cash prize of Rs. 19,400.

Subhankrita of the NCOE proved too good in the final to take home Rs. 19,400, with complete concentration and determination against a confident Sayanika Maji from Delhi. The girl from NCOE upped the ante after winning the first game, and her rival couldn't match the pace as Subhankrita seized the opportunities to stop Sayanika early in the second and third games. Sayanika came too close for Subhankrita's comfort in the fourth but couldn't stop the Kolkata girl from winning the crown.

It was a hard-fought win and a well-deserved place in the final for Puni Biswas of West Bengal against P.B. Abhinand of Tamil Nadu. Though he won the first game of their semi-final, Abhinand could not shut out the threat from the Bengal boy.

In the second, third and fifth games, one could see his never-say-die attitude with fantastic rallies and returns. Probably, the third game that he won 15-13 brought his focus back on the match as he took the next to go 3-1 up. In the fifth, the Tamil Nadu boy's resistance could not bear fruit, as Punit won after the deuce.

For the other boy from Tamil Nadu, Umesh Kumar, it was somewhat of an easy semi-final outing against Rupam Sardar of Bengal. The Bengal showed a few glimpses of his fighting qualities but never could cash in on the chances that came his way. But Umesh pounced on the opportunities to shut out the challenges.

Both the semi-finalists did not have to put up any tough fight in the quarters. The other two quarter-finalists also, more or less, had smooth passages before floundering in the Round of Four.

Subhankrita Datta of NCOE put it across Ishika Umate 4-0 to win her semi-final match against Maharashtra girl, while Sayanika Maji from Delhi won 4-1 against Suhani Mahajan of UP. The latter showed better resistance in the second game, but the Delhi girl was able to seal her opponent's fate quickly. They had good control over their matches in the quarterfinals and easily beat their rivals.

Results:

Youth Boys U-15: Final: Punit Biswas (Ben) bt Umesh Kumar (TNTTA) 7-11, 11-7, 5-11, 11-9, 11-8.

Semi-finals: Umesh Kumar bt Rupam Sardar ((Ben) 11-7, 11-8, 11-4, 11-7; Punit Biswas bt P.B. Abhinand (TNTTA) 8-11, 12-10, 15-13, 11-3, 12-10.

Quarterfinals: Umesh Kumar bt Priyanuj Bhattacharya (Asm) 11-9, 11-6, 1-11, 11-7; Rupam Sardar bt Siddhant Kataria (Har) 11-4, 11-8, 9-11, 11-9; Punit Biswas bt Segal Singh (Man) 14-12, 11-4, 8-11, 11-7; P.B. Abhinand bt Rajkowa Roy (Asm) 11-6, 11-8, 9-11, 11-7.

Youth Girls U-15: Final: Subhankrita Datta (NCOE) bt Sayanika Maji (Del) 11-8, 11-6, 11-6, 11-9.

Semi-finals: Subhankrita Datta bt Ishika Umate (Mah) 11-9, 12-10, 11-4, 11-9; Sayanika Maji bt Suhani Mahajan (UP) 11-6, 6-11, 11-6, 13-11, 11-9.

Quarterfinals: Ishika Umate bt Avani Tripathi (UP) 11-7, 8-11, 11-8, 11-7; Subhankrita Datta bt Divyan Bhowmick (Mah) 11-6, 4-11, 11-4, 11-9; Sayanika Maji bt Bhoota Raina (Mah) 11-7, 11-5, 11-3; Suhani Mahajan bt Sayantani Dasgupta (Ben) 11-7, 9-11, 11-8, 13-11.