India bags silver and bronze in world youth TT championship

Indian table tennis players made a strong debut at the ITTF World Youth Championships in Romania, returning with a haul of two medals — a silver and a bronze — in Under-19 Boys and Under-15 Girls team events respectively. The Under-19 Boys squad produced the standout performance, reaching the final with confidence and tactical maturity before going down 0-3 to Japan.

The title clash opened with a tense five-game battle, where Ankur Bhattacharjee pushed Ryuusei Kawakami to the limit before losing 17-15, 6-11, 12-10, 4-11, 11-13. Japan then extended their lead as Kazaki Yoshiyama beat Abhinand 11-7, 11-8, 11-6, followed by Tamito Watanabe’s straight-games 11-9, 11-7, 11-3 win over Priyanuj Bhattacharyya to seal the gold. Earlier, India entered the final with a thrilling 3-2 win over Chinese Taipei in the semifinals.

The Under-15 Girls added to India’s impressive debut by reaching the semifinals and earning a bronze medal.Despite their 0-3 loss to South Korea, Ankolika Chakraborty, Divyanshi Bhowmick, and Ananya Muralidharan displayed promise, particularly after the team’s notable 3-1 win over Germany in the quarterfinals.

In the Under-19 Girls event, India fell narrowly 2-3 to Chinese Taipei in the quarterfinals despite a spirited showing. Wins from Syndrela Das, Pritha Vartikar, and Taneesha Kotecha gave India a chance, but consistency from Chinese Taipei in the final match halted India’s progress.