Tanishka and Prateek with the winner’s trophies.
| Photo Credit: Amol Karhadkar
Tanishka Kalbhairav of Karnataka and Maharashtra’s Prateek Tulsani began the new season on a winning note, claiming the under-15 girls’ and boys’ titles respectively at the UTT National Ranking Table Tennis tournament at The Sportz Hub on Thursday.
In an entertaining final, 14-year-old Tanishka staged a spirited comeback against West Bengal’s Saturya Banerjee to prevail 9-11, 13-11, 7-11, 11-6, 11-6. Trailing 1-2 and with Saturya’s backhand topspins initially proving too hot to handle, Tanishka found her range with a succession of forehand winners to pocket the winner’s purse of ₹22,400.
Prateek, having had a disappointing run last season, also reigned supreme. The lanky Thane paddler overpowered West Bengal’s promising left-hander Rajdeep Biswas in straight games (11-6, 11-9, 11-9). Rajdeep, who had bowed out in the u-13 semifinals a day earlier, found Prateek’s onslaught too difficult to withstand.
The victory marked an encouraging start to the season for Prateek, who trains under Rajendra Sawant in Thane. After emerging as the National u-13 champion in 2024, he struggled to make the transition to the u-15 category last season. On Thursday, he underlined his potential by topping the National Ranking tournament.
The results: U-15: Boys: Final: Prateek Tulsani (Mah) bt Rajdeep Biswas (WB) 11-6, 11-9, 11-9; semifinals: Prateek bt Rishaan Chattopadhyay (WB) 13-11, 11-8, 11-6; Rajdeep bt Trijal Vohra (Pun) 14-12, 13-11, 7-11, 6-11, 13-11.
Girls: Final: Tanishka Kalbhairav (Kar) bt Saturya Banerjee (WB) 9-11, 13-11, 7-11, 11-6, 11-6; semifinals: Tanishka bt Shariqa Shahid (WB) 11-5, 11-9, 13-11; Saturya bt B. Varnica (TN) 13-11, 7-11, 12-10, 11-8.
Published – August 20, 2026 07:05 pm IST
