Focus on Manush Shah, Payas Jain as UTT Ranking event returns to Delhi after 13 years

New Delhi, Sep 6 (PTI) The spotlight will be on defending champion Manush Shah and local favourite Payas Jain when the second UTT National Ranking Table Tennis Championships return to the capital after 13 years on Sunday.

The absence of top paddlers Manav Thakkar, G Sathiyan and Sreeja Akula has not dimmed the scale of the competition, which has drawn close to 3,000 entries across 12 categories — surpassing the 2,587 entries at the season opener in Vadodara.

The championships will open with the men’s and women’s singles, where Shah (RBI) and Anusha Kutumbale (Railways) -- winners in Vododara -- will look to extend their winning form.

Manav, India’s only men’s player in the world top-50, and Sathiyan are recovering from injuries ahead of the Asian Championships in Bhubaneswar next month, while Sreeja, the lone Indian woman in the top-50, has opted out to focus on the continental event.

Their absence opens up the field for emerging talents to make a mark.

Manush will face tough tests from Jain, who will enjoy home support. He had reached the semifinals at Vadodara. Then there are Sudhanshu Grover and Yashansh Malik, who have the wherewithal to beat the best in business on a given day.

Among women, Anusha will face strong competition from Diya Chitale, runner-up Swastika Ghosh, Yashaswini Ghorpade and Taneesha Kotecha.

Harmeet Desai, SFR Snehit and Akash Pal also add depth to the men’s draw, while a new crop of Under-19 talent -- Ankur Bhattacharjee, Divyansh Srivastava, P.B. Abhinand and Syndrela Das will aim to make an impression.

The junior sections (U-17, U-15, U-13, U-11) will once again showcase the sport’s grassroots strength. PTI ATK AM ATK AM AM