Favourites Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) and Railways Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) entered the quarterfinals in both men’s and women’s sections of the 86th Senior and Inter-State Table Tennis Championships while Maharashtra women survived a scare from Assam to book a last-eight spot in Surat on Monday (January 20).

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PSPB men, who did not have the services of veteran paddler Sharath Kamal in the pre-quarterfinals, had an easy 3-0 win over Karnataka with Ankur Bhattacharjee, Harmeet Desai, and G Sathiyan winning their respective matches at the Pandit Dindayal Upadhyay Indoor Stadium. In the women’s last-16 match, PSPB won against Uttar Pradesh 3-0.

Maharashtra edge Assam in thriller

Maharashtra, last year’s women’s team bronze medallists, narrowly avoided a shock exit in the pre-quarterfinals, overcoming a spirited challenge from Assam to scrape through 3-2.

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The defending champions RSPB, the top seed and another bronze medallist from last year, also faced unexpected resistance but managed a 3-1 win over Telangana to secure their quarterfinal spot in the women’s category.

Tamil Nadu in knockouts

The other teams that made it to the quarterfinals in men’s section were Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, TTFI-1, Assam, and Maharashtra.

Joining PSPB and RSPB in women’s knockouts were West Bengal, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and hosts Gujarat.

Earlier in the tie, Taneesha Kotecha gave Maharashtra the lead, but Trisha Gogoi levelled the score with a gutsy 11-9, 4-11, 4-11, 11-5, 12-10 win over Senhora. Sampada Bhiwandkar restored Maharashtra’s lead with a clinical performance against Gargi Saikia, only for Trisha to reignite Assam’s hopes with a hard-fought victory over Taneesha. The decider, however, proved a step too far for the young Assam side.

Sutirtha wins 2 matches

For RSPB, Sutirtha Mukherjee proved instrumental, winning both her singles in commanding fashion.

In the men’s category, TTFI-1 (Rajasthan) delivered a surprising performance, advancing to the pre-quarterfinals with a clean 3-0 sweep against West Bengal and a gritty 3-2 win over Mizoram. The defeat hit Bengal hard as they subsequently bowed out in the pre-quarterfinals, losing 2-3 to Tamil Nadu, with P.B. Abhinand starring in the latter’s victory. The Bengal squad now faces an uphill battle in the 9-16 classification matches, needing two consecutive wins to keep their hopes alive for qualification in the next National Games.

TTFI-1 extended their winning streak by knocking out hosts Gujarat in the pre-quarterfinals. Their quarterfinal entry was a dramatic feat, with Anukram Jain leading the charge and Harsh Srivastava sealing the deal in a nail-biting five-game thriller, highlighted by an intense 18-16 win in the second game.

The quarterfinals and semifinals will be played on Tuesday.

Team event results (Pre-quarterfinals)

Men: PSPB beat Karnataka 3-0; Telangana beat Odisha 3-0; Tamil Nadu beat West Bengal 3-1; Delhi beat Uttar Pradesh 3-0; TTFI-1 (Rajasthan) beat Gujarat 3-2; Assam beat Haryana 3-2; Maharashtra beat Uttarakhand 3-0; RSPB beat Punjab 3-1.

Women: RSPB beat Telangana 3-1; West Bengal beat Kerala 3-0; Haryana beat Andhra Pradesh 3-0; Maharashtra beat Assam 3-2; Tamil Nadu beat Chandigarh 3-0; Gujarat beat Odisha 3-0; Delhi beat Karnataka 3-0; PSPB beat Uttar Pradesh 3-0.