Tashkent (Uzbekistan), July 1 (ians) Divyanshi Bhowmick scripted history at the 29th Asian Youth Table Tennis Championships here, becoming the first Indian in 36 years to win the U-15 Girls’ Singles title. The 14-year-old Indian, who is seeded second in this event, defeated China’s Zhu Qihi 4-2 in a high-pressure final, capping a sensational run that included victories over three Chinese players—an unprecedented feat in Indian youth table tennis.

With this performance, the second-seeded Divyanshi also sealed her berth for the World Youth Championships with this title.

In the Asian Championship, her standout moment came in the semifinals, where she edged past China’s Liu Ziling in a thrilling seven-game battle to keep India’s gold medal hopes alive.

A product of India’s growing pipeline of table tennis talent, Divyanshi is part of the Dani Sports Foundation’s development program, which works alongside Ultimate Table Tennis to identify and nurture young prospects. The youngster was a part of the first edition of the UTT Juniors, which ran alongside Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 6 in Ahmedabad, featuring some of the country’s best young talents.

Meanwhile, she was also named the Best Women’s Player (Overall) at the Table Tennis Super League (TTSL) Maharashtra in April this year.

India wrapped up its campaign in Tashkent with one gold, one silver, and two bronze medals, with Divyanshi’s triumph standing out as a defining moment for the country’s resurgence in youth table tennis.

In other results for India, the mixed doubles pair of Ankur Bhattacharjee and Taneesha Kotecha clinched a bronze medal. Second seeds Ankur and Taneesha had to settle for a bronze medal after being edged out in a gritty Under-19 mixed doubles semifinal by South Korea’s Kim Gaon and Park Gahyeon. The Indian pair fought valiantly but went down 2-3 in a tightly contested match, with the Koreans prevailing 11-9, 8-11, 11-7, 3-11, 11-3.

The other two medals won by India came in the team events, with the U-15 Boys’ team clinching a silver while the U-19 Boys’ team securing a bronze medal. The Indian pair of Priyanuj Bhattacharyya and Syndrela Das exited in the Under-19 mixed doubles pre-quarterfinals, losing in straight games to North Korea’s Jon Ju Phyong and Jo Hong Rim. Despite challenging their opponents closely, the Indians went down 9-11, 6-11, 9-11.

–IANS

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