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Vivaan Dave & Naisha Rewaskar Win 23-21 Thriller to Reach WTT Youth Final

Vivaan Dave and Naisha Rewaskar staged a remarkable comeback to defeat top seeds Aditya Das and Ankolika Chakraborty in a nail-biting U-15 mixed doubles semifinal. They saved three match points in a dramatic fifth game that extended to 23-21. The victory sets up an all-Indian final against compatriots Reyansh Jalan and Tanishka Kalbhairav. The match was the highlight of the morning session at the WTT Youth Contender in Vadodara.

Key Points: WTT Youth: Dave & Rewaskar Upset Top Seeds in U-15 Mixed Doubles

  • Upset top seeds in U-15
  • Won 23-21 in fifth set
  • Saved three match points
  • All-Indian final set
2 min read

WTT Youth Contender: Vivaan Dave, Naisha Rewaskar win thriller to reach U-15 mixed doubles final

Vivaan Dave and Naisha Rewaskar saved multiple match points to win a 23-21 decider and reach the U-15 mixed doubles final at the WTT Youth Contender in Vadodara.

"saved three match points but kept their nerves to draw level every time their opponents reached a match point - WTT Release"

Vadodara, January 3

Vivaan Dave and Naisha Rewaskar kept their nerves in a topsy-turvey decider that went into extra points to upset top seeds Aditya Das and Ankolika Chakraborty to reach the U-15 mixed doubles final in the WTT Youth Contender at the SAMA Indoor Sports Complex here on Saturday, as per a release.

Vivaan and Naisha defeated the top seeds 13-11, 5-11, 11-7, 5-11, 23-21 and set up a summit clash against compatriots Reyansh Jalan and Tanishka Kalbhairav, who beat Sanjay Jagdish and Myraa Sangelkar 11-3, 15-13, 11-7 in the other semifinal.

This is the second year that the WTT Youth Contender is being held in Vadodara and will have competitions from U-11 to U-19 categories, featuring a total of 226 players.

Meanwhile, top seeds Abhinandh Pradhivadhi and Ananya Muralidharan lived up to their top billing to set up a U-19 mixed doubles summit clash against Sarthak Arya and Syndrela Das.

In the semi-finals, Abhinandh and Ananya defeated Ritvik Gupta and Ahona Roy 9-11, 14-12, 11-7, 11-8 while Sarthak and Syndrela ended the inspired run of Sahil Rawat and Hardee Patel 11-6, 12-10, 5-11, 11-5.

But the one match that kept the spectators on the edge of their seats came at the fag end of the morning session.Vivaan and Naisha showed their fighting spirit in the opening game itself when they came back from 5-8 down, saved a game point before picking the opening game.

Both pairs shared the spoils in the next three games to set up a thrilling decider.

It looked like Aditya and Ankolika would race away in the decider as opened up a 4-0 lead and then had three match points at 10-7.

Vivaan and Naisha not only saved those three match points but kept their nerves to draw level every time their opponents reached a match point before winning four straight points to wrap up the match.

- ANI

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Reader Comments

A
Aman W
Fantastic to see such a high-level tournament in Vadodara. Hosting WTT events is crucial for our young players to gain experience. Hope the finals are just as thrilling!
R
Rohit P
The mental strength shown by these kids is more impressive than the skill. Saving match points against the top seeds takes serious guts. Best of luck in the final!
S
Sarah B
While the win is spectacular, the article could use more detail on the other categories. 226 players is a big deal! It would be great to hear about standout performances in the U-11 or U-13 groups too.
K
Karthik V
Great to see Indian names dominating the finals across categories. Abhinandh, Ananya, Sarthak, Syndrela... all finalists are our own. This is the grassroots development we need to challenge China in table tennis long-term.
N
Nisha Z
The scoreline 13-11, 5-11, 11-7, 5-11, 23-21 tells the whole story of a rollercoaster match! 😅 So proud of these young athletes. Hope they get proper support and coaching to reach the senior level.

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