NL Corresspondent
Vadoora, Jan 17: Sahil Rawat of PSPB Academy and Bhoota Raina of Maharashtra lifted the Under-13 Boys and Girls trophies in
the UTT National Ranking Championships at the Sama Indoor Complex here today.
Without breaking a sweat, Sahil defeated Aditya Das of West Bengal 11-3, 11-8, 11-7, and Bhoota accounted for Ananya
Muralidharan of Tamil Nadu, winning the final 11-3, 11-5, 11-3.
Both the winners carried home Rs. 14,400 each, with the runners-up getting Rs. 7,200.
Sahil took under 35 minutes to dispose of Adiya, who struggled right from the word go. Though he managed to put
resistance in the second and third games, it was too little to trouble Sahil. On the other hand, it became a cakewalk for Bhoota
against the Tamil Nadu girl, who had acquitted herself well until the final.
Sahil Rawat of PSPB continued his fine form to send Shrestho Chakraborty of West Bengal packing in the first semifinal with
an easy 3-1 verdict. And Aditya Das, also from Bengal, staved off a looming threat from Ritvik Gupta o J and K to win 3-2 in the
second.
Aditya, down 1-2, kept a tight leash on Ritvik in the fourth to win it after some initial struggle before going for the kill in the
decider. The quarterfinal outings for boys had earlier turned into a one-sided affair, and the winners deserved their places.
In the Girls U-13 semifinals, top-seed Bhootha Raina struggled after comfortably leading 2-1 against Shreya Dhar of West
Bengal. However, the Maharashtra player showed character and won the decider to seal Shreya's fate. In comparison, Ananya
Muraladhiran of Tamil Nadu approached the task more clinically to thrash Ahona Ray 3-0, also from Bengal. Ananya brooked
no challenge whatsoever from Ahona.
But the Tamil Nadu girl was stretched full in her quarterfinals by Satya Aspathi from Telangana. Ananya lost the first game closely after
the deuce but came back to win the second. In the third, Satya ran away with a good lead to take the game and add pressure on her rival.
Ananya, however, steadied herself to win the next with minimal points and the decider with a lot to spare.
RESULTS:
Youth Boys U-13: Final: Sahil Rawat (PSPBA) bt Aditya Das (Ben) 11-3, 11-8, 11-7. Semi-finals: Sahil Rawat bt Shrestho
Chakraborty (Ben) 11-6, 11-3, 9-11, 11-8; Aditya Das bt Ritvik Gupta (J-K) 11-4, 8-11, 11-13, 11-9, 11-3. Quarterfinals: Sahil
Rawat bt JB Venkatagiri (TNTTA) 7-11, 11-4, 11-4, 11-7; Shrestho Chakraborty bt Shouren Soman (Mah) 8-11, 11-5, 12-10,
14-12; Ritvik Gupta bt Malav Panchal (Guj) 11-7, 11-6, 11-7; Aditya Das bt Akash Rajavelu (TNTTA) 12-10, 12-10, 11-4.
Youth Girls U-13: Final: Bhoota Raina (Mah) bt Aananya Murlidharan (TNTTA) 11-3, 11-5, 11-3. Semi-finals: Bhoota Raina bt Shreya
Dhar (Ben) 11-9, 11-8, 7-11, 7-11, 11-7; Ananya Muralidharan bt Ahona Ray (Ben) 11-6, 11-8, 11-4. Quarterfinals: Bhoota Raina bt Dhaani
Jain (Del) 11-6, 5-11, 11-9, 11-0; Shreya Dhar bt Aankolika Chakraborty (Ben) 7-11, 11-8, 11-6, 6-11, 11-6; Ahona Ray bt Ayushi Singhal
(Del) 11-6, 11-4, 11-8; Ananya Muralidharan bt Satya Aspathi (Telg) 10-12, 11-4, 6-11, 11-9, 11-6
