Karnataka’s Tanishka Kalbhairav and Maharashtra’s Prateek Tulsani began the season on a winning note by capturing the Under-15 titles at the UTT National Ranking Table Tennis Championships in Kanpur on Thursday.
Tanishka secured the girls’ crown after producing a strong comeback against West Bengal’s Saturya in an entertaining final at The Sportz Hub. The 14-year-old recovered from a 1-2 deficit before eventually winning a tense deciding game.
Saturya appeared to have taken control of the contest as her backhand topspins caused repeated problems for Tanishka. With the match beginning to slip away, however, the Karnataka paddler adjusted her approach and found greater consistency with her forehand.
A series of forehand winners changed the momentum of the final. Tanishka took the next two games to complete the turnaround and secure the championship along with the Rs. 22,400 winner’s prize.
In the boys’ competition, Tulsani delivered a more commanding performance in the final.
The Maharashtra paddler defeated West Bengal’s Rajdeep Biswas in straight games, giving him an ideal start to the new national ranking season. Tulsani’s attacking play proved too strong for the promising left-hander, who was unable to find a way back into the contest.
Rajdeep had already enjoyed a productive tournament after reaching the Under-13 semifinals a day earlier. He went one stage further in the Under-15 event but could not overcome Tulsani in the title clash.
For Tulsani, the victory was particularly significant following a challenging previous season.
The Thane paddler, who trains under Rajendra Sawant, had established himself as one of the country’s promising young players by becoming the Under-13 national champion in 2024. However, his move into the Under-15 age group proved difficult last season as he struggled to reproduce that success.
His performance in Kanpur offered an early indication of a possible turnaround.
By winning the opening national ranking tournament of the season, Tulsani has put last year’s difficulties behind him and made an immediate statement in the Under-15 category.
Tanishka also leaves Kanpur with valuable early-season momentum after showing resilience under pressure to complete her comeback and take the girls’ championship.
