Ahmedabad: The new category has been introduced by the Gujarat State Table Tennis Association which is known as the “Hopes Category” for the under 11 players at Phase-1 of the 1st Gujarat State Ranking Table Tennis Tournament 2021 at Madosa from Friday.While the kids will surely grab all the attention, the tournament will also see plenty of action in the cadet (U-13) and sub junior (U-15) categories.
Ahmedabad’s Him ansh Dahiya, the top seed, showed tremendous form to win the under-15 boys’ crown at the Gujarat and Inter-District Table Tennis Championship 2021 at Gandhidham.
Himansh appeared to have carried on his form as he won the under-17 and under-15 titles at the recently concluded 1st Open Ahmedabad Ranking Table Tennis Tournament.
However, Himansh can expect stiff resistance from local boys Harshvardhan Patel, the second seed, and Janmejay Patel, the third seed.
In the girls’ category, Surat’s Arnee Parmar, the winner at Gandhidham, will maintain her winning streak but she can once again expect a strong challenge from Ahmedabad’s Pratha Pawar. The 12-year Pratha lost a close final to Arnee but she showed impressive form in becoming the youngest ever women’s winner at the Ahmedabad tournament.
But it won’t be a two-horse race as the likes of second seed Moubini Chatterjee and seventh seed Nidhi Prajapati, of Ahmedabad, along with Riya Jayswal of Bhavnagar can mount a strong challenge.
Top seed Pratha will be an overwhelming favourite in the girls’ under-13 category with Hiya Singh, Jiya Trivedi, and Moubini expected to pose a tough challenge.
In the boys’ event, Ahmedabad’s Aarya Kataria, the top seed, can expect some stiff competition from Surat’s Vivaan Dave, while the likes of Surat’s Samarth Shekhawat, the second seed, could be hard to ignore.
