Vivaan Dave and Naisha Rewaskar displayed remarkable composure in a tense decider that went into extra points, upsetting top seeds Aditya Das and Ankolika Chakraborty to reach the U-15 mixed doubles final at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Youth Contender held at the SAMA Indoor Sports Complex on Saturday.
Vivaan and Naisha narrowly triumphed over the top seeds with scores of 13-11, 5-11, 11-7, 5-11, 23-21. They will face fellow players Reyansh Jalan and Tanishka Kalbhairav in the final, following their semifinal victory against Sanjay Jagdish and Myraa Sangelkar, which ended with scores of 11-3, 15-13, 11-7.
This year marks the second edition of the WTT Youth Contender in Vadodara, featuring competitions across U-11 to U-19 categories, with a total of 226 players participating.
In the U-19 mixed doubles category, top seeds Abhinandh Pradhivadhi and Ananya Muralidharan secured their place in the final against Sarthak Arya and Syndrela Das. Abhinandh and Ananya edged past Ritvik Gupta and Ahona Roy in the semifinals, winning with scores of 9-11, 14-12, 11-7, 11-8. Meanwhile, Sarthak and Syndrela showcased their skill and determination by defeating Sahil Rawat and Hardee Patel with scores of 11-6, 12-10, 5-11, 11-5.
One of the most thrilling matches occurred at the very end of the morning session, keeping spectators captivated. Vivaan and Naisha demonstrated their fighting spirit from the outset, recovering from a 5-8 deficit, saving a game point, and ultimately clinching the opening game.
The next three games were fiercely contested as both pairs traded wins, leading to a dramatic decider. Aditya and Ankolika looked poised for victory as they gained a 4-0 lead and held three match points at 10-7. However, Vivaan and Naisha not only saved those match points but also maintained their composure, leveling the score each time their opponents faced a match point. They eventually won four consecutive points to secure the match.