Soham's fightback, Riana's flair seal U-17 titles

New Delhi, Sep 12 (PTI) West Bengal's Soham Mukherjee produced a stirring comeback in the Under-17 boys final, rallying from two games down to edge out Ritvik Gupta of Jammu and Kashmir 3-2 and lift the title at the Table Tennis National Championships here on Friday.

Earlier, seventh-seeded Riana Bhoota stunned top-seeded Divyanshi Bhowmick to clinch the U-17 girls crown in straight games, displaying both grit and control to deny her fancied rival.

Ritvik had surged into a 2-0 lead in the boys' summit clash, but Soham refused to buckle. After pushing hard in the second game, he shifted gears in the third with aggressive shot-making to reduce the deficit.

The fourth, narrowly secured, proved the turning point as the Bengal paddler gained belief and sealed the decider with clinical precision to complete a remarkable turnaround.

In the end, the left-hander prevailed as Riana twice fought back to assert her authority in the final against Divyanshi, who had raced to a 6-1 lead in the opening game.

Riana mounted a fine recovery, earning a game point before Divyanshi forced deuce. But on her second chance, the left-hander closed it out.

With growing confidence, Riana surged ahead in the second game, as Divyanshi's usually reliable blocks faltered and sailed long, giving Riana a commanding 2-0 cushion.

In the third, Divyanshi appeared back in control and led 9-5, but her pimpled rubber and relentless backhand attack by Riana turned the tide. She drew level at 9-9 and then sealed the match in style, reeling off six straight points.

In the boys' section, Jammu and Kashmir's Ritvik proved too strong for Odisha's Sarthak Arya in a gripping semifinal battle, where the momentum swung wildly.

Ritvik began confidently and looked in control, but Sarthak showcased his trademark resilience, pushing the match into the decider as both traded games.

In the fifth, Ritvik surged ahead early and maintained the lead to seal his place in the final with authority.

In the other semifinal, West Bengal's Soham overcame Tamil Nadu's Nikhil Menon.

The opening game went down to the wire, with Soham capitalising on deuce to win 12-10. From there, he shifted gears and never allowed his opponent to recover, wrapping up the contest in straight games.

In the girls' category, Divyanshi and Ananya Muralidharan engaged in a see-saw semifinal.

Ananya started well but trailed 1-2 by the third game. Though she levelled the score, Divyanshi raised her game at the crucial juncture to finish the match in style.

The second semifinal saw Riana upstage West Bengal's Avisha Karmakar. After taking the first game 13-11 on deuce, the left-hander pressed on the accelerator, leaving Avisha struggling to keep pace despite some resistance in the third game. PTI AH SSC SSC