DEHRADUN: Top seeds Tamil Nadu stamped their authority with a 3-1 win over Maharashtra to clinch the U-19 boys' team title at the UTT Inter-State Junior and Youth National Table Tennis Championships here on Wednesday.
Tamil Nadu's charge was led by the rock-solid PB Abhinand, who delivered commanding wins over Neil Mulye and Kushal Chopda, sealing the title in style in the reverse singles.
Maharashtra leaned heavily on Chopda -- a tactic that carried them to the final but exposed their lack of depth. Mulye showed fight, but the duo couldn't match Tamil Nadu's balance when it mattered.
The difference was Tamil Nadu's all-round strength, highlighted by SK Mehan's straight-game win over Ishan Khandekar, which firmly tilted the tie in their favour. Earlier, Tamil Nadu beat Assam in the semifinals, while Maharashtra got past West Bengal.
Tamil Nadu bt Maharashtra 3-1 (M.R.Balamurugan lost to Kushal Chopda 11-9, 13-11, 8-11, 6-11, 9-11, P.B. Abhinand bt Neil Mulye 11-5, 11-3, 7-11, 11-6, S.K. Mehan bt Ishan Khandekar 11-4, 12-10, 11-7, Abhinand bt Kushal 11-6, 11-6, 11-8).
Tamil Nadu bt Assam 3-2 (Abhinand bt Divyaj Rajkhowa Roy 6-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-5, Balamurugan lost to Priyanuj Bhattacharyya 12-14, 6-11, 9-11, Mehan bt Swapnanil Dutta 11-4, 11-7, 11-7, Abhinand lost to Priyanuj 6-11, 11-5, 11-13, 11-7, 6-11, Balamurugan bt Divyaj 11-7, 11-5, 8-11, 5-11, 11-8)