Odisha Under-15 Boys Table Tennis Team created history by winning the bronze medal in 85th Inter State Sub-Junior & Cadet National Championships at the Abhay Prashal Indoor Stadium in Indore, Madhya Pradesh today. This is the first-ever team medal for Odisha in any National Table Tennis Championship.

The four-member Odisha team, featuring Jigyanshu Sahoo, Anindya Anupam Das, Jigyansu Sai Kiran Pradhan and Tamil Mohammed, bagged the bronze medal by reaching semifinals with a stunning 3-1 win over former champions Tamil Nadu yesterday. The heroic journey of the Odisha team, however, ended in the semifinals, where they lost to West Bengal 0-3.

Earlier in the pre-quarterfinals, Odisha prevailed over Telengana 3-1. Accompanied by coach Raj S Subramanian and manager Sambit Das, Odisha team qualified for the pre-quarterfinals by winning two rounds and losing one in Group-D league. They beat Rajasthan 3-0 and Madhya Pradesh 3-1, but lost to Gujarat 2-3.

Cuttack boy Jigyanshu Sahoo was the main architect of the historic achievement, winning nine out of 10 matches in singles and two out of four in doubles. Unable to get proper training facility in his home town, he had to travel to Bhubaneswar daily for over a month with his coach Raj Subramanian to prepare for the National championship.

The first-ever National medal is sure to boost the confidence of the table tennis players in Odisha and generate help and support for the overall development of the sport in the State. Part of the medal-winning credit must be given to Odisha State Table Tennis Association and its secretary Rabindra Kumar Parida for doing commendable spadework amidst lots of adversities.

PERFORMANCE DETAILS OF ODISHA U-15 BOYS TEAM:

Group-G League (January 16):

Round-1: Odisha bt Rajasthan (TTFI-2) 3-0 (Anindya Anupam Das bt Krishna Purohit 11-8, 11-5, 11-4; Jigyanshu Sahoo bt Moulik Rajawat 11-2, 11-5, 11-2; Jigyanshu Sahoo-Jigyansu Sai Kiran Pradhan bt Yogesh Thanvi-Bhuvans Meena 11-3, 11-7, 11-5).

Round-2: Odisha lost to Gujarat 2-3 (Jigyanshu Sahoot beat Malav Panchal 11-4, 11-8, 11-7; Anindya Anupam Das lost to Abhilaksh Patel 11-3, 5-11, 3-11, 11-7, 11-3; Jigyanshu-Anindya lost to Sujal Kukadia-Arya Kataria 14-12, 7-11, 5-11, 11-8, 6-11; Jigyanshu bt Abhilaksh 12-14, 11-7, 11-5, 8-11, 11-6; Anindya lost to Malav 11-13, 9-11, 5-11).

Round-3: Odisha bt Madhya Pradesh 3-1 (Jigyanshu Sahoo bt Mradul Joshi 11-4, 11-7, 12-10; Anindya Anupam Das lost to Rhythm Gada 8-11, 5-11, 13-11, 11-3, 4-11; Jigyanshu-Anindya bt Mradul-Rhythma 11-5, 11-7, 11-7; Jigyanshu bt Rhythm 6-11,m 11-7, 1-11, 11-8, 11-9).

Pre-Quarterfinals (January 17): Odisha bt Telangana 3-1 (Jigyanshu Sahoo bt Malkapuri Devansh Singh 11-4, 11-4, 11-9; Anindya Anupam Das lost to Akshay Khajandar 9-11, 3-11, 5-11; Jigyanshu-Anindya bt Karthik Teja-Akshay 11-9, 11-6, 11-2; Jigyanshu bt Akshay 11-5, 11-6, 11-3).

Quarterfinals (January 17): Odisha bt Tamil Nadu 3-1 (Anindya Anupam Das lost to Nikhil Menon 6-11, 6-11, 5-11; Jigyanshu Sahoo bt Siddarth Prakasam 11-5, 9-11, 12-10, 11-6; Anindya-Jigyanshu bt Siddarth-Akash Rajavelu 11-9, 6-11, 11-9, 11-7; Jigyanshu bt Nikhil 11-9, 11-3, 7-11, 11-9).

Semifinals (January 18): West Bengal bt Odisha 3-0 (Soham Mukherjee bt Jigyanshu Sahoo 9-11, 15-13, 7-11, 11-8, 15-13; Rupam Sardar bt Anindya Anupam Das 11-4, 11-4, 11-5; Rupam-Soham bt Jigyanshu-Anindya 11-3, 11-7, 11-9).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PHOTO: Members of Odisha U-15 Boys Team (Left to right) manager Sambit Das, Jigyanshu Sai Kiran Pradhan, Tamil Mohammed, Anindya Anupam Das, Jigyashu Sahoo and coach Raj S Subramanian pose at the 85th Inter State Sub-Junior & Cadet National Championships in Indore.