RSPB pairs clinch doubles titles; singles quarter-finalists decided

Indore: Railway Sports Promotion Board paddlers Jeet Chandra and Anirban Ghosh in men's doubles, and their teammates Sutirtha Mukherjee and Koushani Nath in women's doubles, emerged champions at UTT 87th Senior National and Inter-State Table Tennis Championship at Abhay Prashal on Friday.In the men's doubles final, RSPB duo of Chandra and Ghosh defeated fellow RSPB players Ronit Bhanja and S R Prieyesh in a closely fought five-game contest, winning 11-8, 11-6, 10-12, 1-11, 11-8. They earlier beat Tamil Nadu's Rajshekharan and Siddhesh Pandey in the semi-final.In the women's doubles final, RSPB's Sutirtha Mukherjee and Koushani Nath overcame the Airports Authority of India pair of Abhisha Karmakar and Nandini Shah 11-8, 4-11, 11-8, 11-5 to secure the title.In the men's singles pre-quarter-finals, RSPB's Jeet Chandra registered a major upset by defeating Reserve Bank of India paddler and reigning champion Manush Shah. Petroleum Sports Promotion Board players Manav Thakkar and Harmeet Desai advanced with strong performances, while RSPB's Ronit Bhanja, Maharashtra's Regan Albuquerque, and Mizoram's H Jeho also progressed.In the women's singles, RBI's Sreeja Akula and Diya Chitale moved into the quarter-finals with convincing wins. PSPB players Yashaswini Ghorpade and Cinderella Das also advanced, along with RSPB's Sutirtha Mukherjee and Tamil Nadu's Yashini Shivshankar.With doubles titles secured by RSPB and top contenders advancing in singles, the championship is set for a competitive finish in the remaining rounds.