Favourites Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) and Railways Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) entered the finals of both men’s and women’s team events at the 86th Senior National and Inter-State Table Tennis Championships in Surat on Tuesday (January 21).

Also read: Gujarat women clinch historic medal in Surat

In the men’s semifinals at the Pandit Dindayal Upadhyay Indoor Stadium, top-seeded PSPB earned a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Delhi while RSPB overcame Assam’s challenge with a similar scoreline.

Sathiyan redeems himself

Despite initial setbacks, including G Sathiyan’s unexpected loss in the opening match, PSPB recovered with standout performances from Ankur Bhattacharjee and Harmeet Desai. Sathiyan redeemed himself in the deciding match, narrowly escaping a defeat against Payas Jain to seal the team’s spot in the summit clash on Wednesday.

Also read: Exclusive interview with G Sathiyan

In the other semifinal, RSPB won, thanks to Anirban Ghosh’s crucial victories, including a tense reverse singles match. His resilience ensured RSPB’s place in the title match against the defending champions.

RSPB down Maharashtra

In the women’s category, RSPB edged out Maharashtra 3-0 in a tightly contested match, while PSPB dominated Gujarat with a comfortable 3-0 victory. RSPB players Sutirtha Mukherjee, Kaushani Nath, and Poymantee Baisya showed determination, overcoming stiff resistance from their opponents. PSPB women, led by Yashaswini Ghorpade, maintained composure to end the host team’s dream run.

Earlier, in the men’s quarterfinals, PSPB and Delhi secured emphatic 3-0 wins over Telangana and Tamil Nadu respectively. Assam edged past TTFI-1 (Rajasthan) 3-2. RSPB defeated Maharashtra 3-1.

PSPB and RSPB achieved straightforward 3-0 wins in the women’s quarterfinals over West Bengal and Delhi respectively. Gujarat and Maharashtra advanced with 3-1 victories.

Team event results

Men: Semifinals: PSPB beat Delhi 3-1 (G. Sathiyan lost to Yashansh Malik 11-9, 11-9, 6-11, 7-11, 4-11, Ankur Bhattacharjee beat Payas Jain 11-5, 13-11, 11-8 , Harmeet Desai beat Sudhanshu Grover 11-8, 9-11, 11-9, 11-5, Sathiyan beat Payas 11-9, 4-11, 5-11, 12-10, 12-10); RSPB beat Assam 3-1 (Anirban Ghosh beat Shankab Barua 11-4, 11-7, 11-6, Jeet Chandra lost to Priyanuj Bhattacharyya 10-12, 11-7, 1-11, 6-11, Ronit Bhanja beat Agniv Bhaskar Gohain 11-4, 11-2, 12-10, Anirban beat Priyanuj 5-11, 10-12, 14-12, 11-7, 11-3).

Quarterfinals: PSPB beat Telangana 3-0 (Sathiyan beat Ali Mohammed 11-7, 11-1, 11-2, Manav Thakkar beat SFR Snehit 11-8, 11-6, 11-9, Harmeet beat Mohammed Ali 15-13, 11- 7, 11-5); Delhi beat Tamil Nadu 3-0 (Yashansh beat Preyesh Raj Suresh 11-1, 11-8, 9-11, 11-6, Payas beat PB Abhinand 11-4, 9-11, 11-7, 11-7, Sudhanshu beat Tharun Shanmugam 11-7, 11-7, 11-8); Assam beat TTFI-1 3-1 (Shankab Barua lost to Anukram Jain 1-11, 10-12, 10-12, Priyanuj Bhattacharyya beat Harsh Srivastava 11-9, 11-3, 11-8, Agniv Bhaskar Gohain 11-9 , 10-12, 11-9, 11-9, Priyanuj beat Anukram 11-9, 11-3, 11-5); RSPB beat Maharashtra 3-1 (Ronit Bhanja beat Jash Modi 11-6, 11-8, 11-5, Anirban Ghosh beat Siddesh Pande 11-9, 11-13, 11-3, 11-3, Jeet Chandra lost to Chinmaya Somaiya 8-11, 11-3, 11-13, 11-5, 8-11, Anirban beat Jash Modi 11-5, 5-11, 11-9, 11-7).

Women: Semifinals: RSPB beat Maharashtra 3-0 (Sutirtha Mukherjee beat Senhora D'Souza 10-12, 11-9, 11-5, 11-5, Kaushani Nath beat Taneesha Kotecha 2-11, 11-4, 7-11, 15-13 , 11-5, Poymantee Baisya beat Ananya Chande 11-9, 6-11, 5-11, 11-7, 12-10); PSPB beat Gujarat 3-0 (Yashaswini Ghorpade beat Oishiki Joardar 11-5, 11-7, 11-8, Reeth Rishya beat Krittwika Sinha Roy 12-10, 11-5, 11-9, Sayali Wani beat Chipia Frenaz 11-8 , 11–8, 11–13, 11–5).

Quarterfinals: RSPB beat Bengal 3-0 (Sutirtha beat Saanvi Roy 11-5, 11-8, 11-4, Kaushani beat Syndrela Das 11-8, 11-9, 6-11, 11-9, Poymantee beat Ditsa Roy 11-1 , 6-11, 11-9, 11-5); Maharashtra beat Haryana 3-1 (Ananya lost to Suhana Saini 6-11, 8-11, 9-11, Taneesha beat Prithoki Chakraborti 12-10, 7-11, 11-5, 11-7, Sampada Bhiwandkar beat Sneha Bhowmick 10-10 -12, 11-7, 11-9, 10-12, 11-8, Taneesha beat Suhana 12-10, 11-9, 11-5); Gujarat beat Tamil Nadu 3-1 (Oishiki Joardar beat Selena Deepthi 8-11, 12-10, 7-11, 11-7, 11-6. Krittwika Sinha Roy beat Yashini Sivashankar 11-7, 11-6, 8-11 , 12-10, Chipia Frenaz lost to Kavyashree Baskar 9-11, 4-11, 12-10, 11-6, 10-12, Krittwika beat Selena 8-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8); PSPB beat Delhi 3-0 (Yashaswini Ghorpade beat Lakshita Narang 11-7, 13-11, 11-7, Sayali Wani beat Vanshika Bhargava 11-7, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9, Mouma Das beat Garima Goyal 11-6, 11-5, 13-11).