Top seeds fall as Jalay, Poojan, Nilay spring major upsets in men’s pre-quarterfinals

Organised by the Kachchh District Table Tennis Association under the aegis of the Gujarat State Table Tennis Association (GSTTA), the three-day championship is sponsored by Deendayal Port Authority (DPA) with Stiga as equipment partner, carries a total prize purse of ₹2.90 lakh, besides additional gifts for winners.

The biggest shock came when Bhavnagar’s 14th seed Poojan Chandarana knocked out defending champion and third seed Nutanshu Dayama of Surat in a thrilling five-game contest. Poojan held his nerve to win 12-10, 11-9, 3-11, 15-13, 11-9 and advance to the last eight.

Another upset came when 16th seed Jalay Mehta of Vadodara stunned the top seed Jaynil Mehta of Rajkot 3-1. After recovering from the loss of the opening game, the seasoned paddler Jalay prevailed 4-11, 11-6, 11-9, 13-11 to seal one of the tournament’s biggest victories.

Moreover, unseeded Nilay Thakkar of Surat cruised past sixth seed and his citymate Devarsh Vaghela in straight games to book his last eight berth and round off a string of upsets in the men’s event.

Ahmedabad’s Abhilash Raval, seeded eight, also impressed by defeating ninth seed Het Thakkar (Rajkot) 3-1, while other top contenders like second seed Pratham Madlani of Vadodara, fourth seed Janmejay Patel of Aravalli, fifth seed Soham Bhattacharya of Ahmedabad and seventh seed Dhairya Parmar of Ahmedabad progressed comfortably into the quarters.

Story was different in the under-19 boys category where all the leading contenders stayed on course for the next round. Top seed Janmejay eased past Dhruv Bhambhani, while second seed Ved Panchal of Vadodara, third seed Himansh Dahiya (Ahmedabad), fourth seed Malav Panchal (Ahmedabad), fifth seed Dwij Bhalodia (Ahmedabad), sixth seed Pawan Kumar (Surat), seventh seed Yug Parmar (Surat) and eighth seed Riaan Shah (Surat) all entered in the quarters.

Women’s and girls’ events continued with the preliminary rounds, with the title contenders expected to enter the fray soon.

Results:
Mens PQF: Jalay Mehta (16) (BRD) bt Jaynil Mehta (1) (RJT) 3-1 (4-11, 11-6, 11-9, 13-11); Abhilash Raval (8) (AHD) bt Het Thakkar (9) (RJT) 3-1 (12-10, 11-7, 10-12, 11-7); Poojan Chandarana (14) (BVN) bt Nutanshu Dayama (3) (SRT) 3-2 (12-10, 11-9, 3-11, 15-13, 11-9); Nilay Thakkar (SRT) bt Devarsh Vaghela (6) (SRT) 3-0 (11-2, 11-7, 11-9); Dhairya Parmar (7) (AHD) bt Dhyey Jani (10) (ARV) 3-2 (11-6, 6-11, 12-10, 11-13, 11-5); Pratham Madlani (2) (BRD) bt Malav Panchal 3-0 (11-3, 11-4, 11-7); Janmejay Patel (4) (ARV) bt Riyan Dutta (13) (AHD) 3-1 (11-7, 12-14, 11-7, 14-11); Soham Bhattacharya (5) (AHD) bt Sahibjot Singh Jaggi (12) (AHD) 3-0 (11-4, 11-3, 11-9).

Junior U-19 Boys PQF: Janmejay Patel (1) (ARV) bt Dhruv Bhambhani (16) (KCH) 3-0 (11-7, 11-8, 11-3); Riaan Shah (8) (SRT) bt Yagnesh Parmar (9) (JAM) 3-2 (5-11, 11-8, 6-11, 11-6, 13-11); Dwij Bhalodia (5) (AHD) bt Arya Kataria (AHD) 3-0 (11-6, 11-8, 14-12); Malav Panchal (4) (AHD) bt Sagar Makwana (13) 3-2 (7-11, 12-10, 9-11, 11-8, 11-6); Himansh Dahiya (3) (AHD) bt Vandan Sutariya (14) (BVN) 3-0 (11-9, 11-6, 11-9); Yug Parmar (7) (SRT) bt Ansh Khamar (10) (AHD) 3-2 (11-7, 6-11, 11-7, 8-11, 11-6); Ved Panchal (2) (BRD) bt Divya Bhavsar (AHD) 3-0 (11-9, 12-10, 11-7); Pawan Kumar (6) (SRT) bt Jai Mundada (11) (SRT) 3-0 (11-8, 11-4, 11-6).