Odisha ace Sarthak Arya bagged the under-17 youth boys singles title in the 4th UTT National Ranking Table Tennis Championships at the Tau Devi Lal Multipurpose Indoor Stadium in Panchkula, Haryana yesterday. He beat Ritvik Gupta of Jammu and Kashmir out in the pulsating final 3-2 (11-7, 9-11, 9-11, 11-2, 12-10).

This was the second straight UTT National Ranking title for Sarthak, who claimed his previous one in Indore, Madhya Pradesh earlier on 2 November 2025. The final in Panchkula looked to be tilting in favour of Ritvik, but Sarthak flipped the script with a commanding fourth game, setting the stage for a tense decider.

In the fifth, both players traded fierce rallies, yet it was Sarthak who showed the nerves of steel in the crunch moments that carried him through, dramatically securing back-to-back crowns. He received a cash prize of Rs 27,600.

Earlier, Ritvik and Sarthak stormed into the final after navigating a series of tightly fought encounters marked by long rallies and heavy pressure. The semifinal win over Rupam Sardar (West Bengal) was an intense affair for Sarthak.

The Odisha paddler dropped a draining first game 12-14, but responded with greater aggression, tightening his serve-receive patterns and forcing more errors to take the next three games. His 11-6, 11-8, 11-5 stretch reflected growing control as the match wore on.
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PHOTO: Odisha paddler Sarthak Arya celebrates his title triumph with coach Julien Gerard (France) at the UTT National Ranking Table Tennis Championships in Panchkula, Haryana on 14 November 2025.