Harmeet Desai, Yashaswini Ghorpade Suffer Shock Exits at National Ranking Table Tennis Championships

Fourth seed Harmeet Desai and second seed Yashaswini Ghorpade suffered surprise defeats at the second National Ranking Table Tennis Championships at the Tau Devi Lal Indoor Hall in Panchkula on Sunday, as the men's and women's singles competitions witnessed major upsets.

Harmeet was eliminated in the men's singles Round of 128 by qualifier Rusikesh Jagtap, while Yashaswini bowed out in the women's Round of 32 after losing a five-game battle against Tamil Nadu's Ananya Muralidharan. Their exits opened up the respective draws, although several other seeded players continued their campaigns with convincing performances.

Harmeet, who received a first-round bye in the 256-player men's singles draw, was unable to convert his status as the fourth seed into a deeper run in the tournament. The experienced Indian went down 9-11, 11-1, 9-11, 10-12 against Jagtap in the Round of 128. After dropping a closely contested opening game, Harmeet responded emphatically in the second, winning 11-1 to level the match.

However, Jagtap regained the advantage in the third game before holding his nerve in a tight fourth to complete the upset. Harmeet's 1-3 defeat represented one of the day's most significant results, with the qualifier eliminating a leading contender from the competition at an early stage.

Second seed Yashaswini Ghorpade of PSPB also suffered an early exit, losing 2-3 to Ananya Muralidharan in the women's singles Round of 32. The encounter was closely fought from the outset, with Ananya edging the opening game 13-11. Yashaswini responded by taking the second 12-10 before moving ahead with an 11-7 win in the third.

With the second seed holding a 2-1 advantage, the match appeared to be moving in her favour. However, Ananya produced a decisive response, dominating the fourth game 11-1 before maintaining her momentum to win the decider 11-7.

The victory was particularly significant for Ananya, who had won the Under-17 girls' singles title earlier in the tournament on Tuesday. Her ability to recover after falling behind demonstrated composure in a high-pressure encounter against one of the leading seeds.

Yashaswini's elimination adds another twist to the women's singles competition, where the remaining contenders will now look to capitalise on the departure of a major title candidate.

Diya Chitale Dominates Manika Batra

While the tournament produced notable upsets, third seed Diya Chitale delivered one of the most impressive performances of the day, defeating Manika Batra 11-2, 12-10, 12-10 in their Round of 32 clash.

Diya dominated the opening game, leaving Manika with little opportunity to establish her rhythm. The second game, however, developed into a much tighter contest as Manika fought back and opened up a 10-8 advantage.

Diya responded strongly after taking a timeout, increasing her aggression and winning the crucial points to take the game 12-10. The Asian Games mixed doubles medallist maintained that attacking approach in the third game, once again winning 12-10 to complete a straight-games victory.

For Manika, the defeat ended a challenging campaign that had required her to negotiate the group qualification stage before reaching the main draw. Both Manika and Sreeja Akula, previously ranked world No. 24 and No. 21 respectively, entered the women's singles main draw unseeded. Neither received a first-round bye, leaving them with a demanding route through the competition.

Sreeja, representing RBI, had advanced with wins over Karnataka's Vanshika Deshana and Bengal's Saanvi Roy. She defeated Deshana 12-10, 11-7, 11-5 before recording a more comfortable 11-4, 11-4, 11-7 victory over Roy.

Her next assignment against top seed Syndrela Das will be a major test. Syndrela opened her campaign with an 11-7, 11-6, 11-6 win over qualifier Ditsa Roy and subsequently defeated Sreeja 11-9, 11-7, 11-6 in their Round of 32 encounter.

Several other leading contenders progressed, although not all had straightforward outings. Fourth seed and former national champion Sutirtha Mukherjee overcame Maharashtra's Swara Karmarkar 7-11, 12-10, 11-1, 6-11, 11-4 in a fluctuating five-game contest.

Fifth seed Yashini Sivasankar of Tamil Nadu moved forward with a straight-games victory over Maharashtra's Mukta Dalvi, while sixth seed Divyanshi Bhowmick of Maharashtra defeated FCI's Pelf 3-0. Seventh seed Swastika Ghosh was pushed hard by Tamil Nadu's M. Hansini before prevailing 11-4, 8-11, 11-8, 6-11, 11-9. She will face Railway's Kaushani Nath in the Round of 32.

Eighth seed Sayali Wanni also progressed, defeating RSPB's Takeme Sarkar 3-1 after dropping a game. Her next opponent will be Bengal's Ahona Ray. Manika had earlier secured wins over Canara Bank's Maria Rony and FCI's N.B.S. Thanuja to reach the Round of 32. She defeated Rony 16-14, 11-2, 9-11, 11-7 before recovering from an opening-game loss to beat Thanuja 6-11, 11-5, 11-6, 12-10.

The exits of Harmeet and Yashaswini have underlined the unpredictable nature of the national ranking championships, where seeded status offers no guarantee of progression. For Ananya, the victory over Yashaswini represents a major opportunity to build on her success in the junior category. Diya's commanding performance against Manika also strengthens her position among the contenders.

With several seeds still in contention and difficult matches ahead, the competition at Panchkula remains finely poised as players continue their pursuit of national ranking points and a place among the country's leading table tennis players.