Sarthak Arya, the rising table tennis star of Odisha and India, added yet another feather to his well-decorated cap by winning the youth (U-17) boys singles title in the UTT National Ranking Table Tennis Championships at Abhay Prashal Indoor Stadium in Indore, Madhya Pradesh today.

Sarthak defeated Ritvik Gupta (Jammu & Kashmir) in the hard-fought final 3-2 (11-9, 8-11, 11-8, 5-11, 11-7). On the road to the final, the 16-year-old Odisha youth won five matches in a row, including the semifinal against Shouren Soman (Maharashtra).

The title win in Indore also fetched 45 ranking points for Sarthak and helped him reclaim his No 1 position in the National Rankings of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI). His total points is to expected jump from 150 to 195.

Sarthak, who hails from Kakatpur area of Jagatsinghpur district and trains at Rainbow Khelo India Residential Academy in Himachal Pradesh, has been in fine form, winning laurels in national and international events. The Odisha paddler created history by winning the first-ever mixed-doubles bronze medal for India with West Bengal partner Syndrela Das at the 3rd Asian Youth Games in Manama, Bahrain earlier this week.

Odisha State Table Tennis Association (OSTTA) secretary Rabindra Kumar Parida congratulated Sarthak for his title triumph and wished him more laurels in the future. “Hard work has been the biggest pillar of success for Sarthak. OSTTA is sparing no  efforts to arrange support for his development. The Odisha Government has also assured help for this first international table tennis medalist of the State,” said Parida.

PERFORMANCE DETAILS OF SARTHAK ARYA:

Round-64: beat Shaurya Kumar (Haryana) 3-1 (11-4, 8-11, 11-1, 11-7).
Round-32: beat Ronald Sarkar (PSPB-A) 3-2 (12-10, 4-11, 12-10, 7-11, 11-6).
Round-16: beat Parth Magar (Maharashtra) 3-1 (11-5, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9).
Quarterfinal: beat Aditya Das (West Bengal) 3-2 (11-8, 8-11, 12-10, 11-13, 11-9).
Semifinal: beat Shouren Soman (Maharashtra) 3-1 (6-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-8).
Final: beat Ritvik Gupta (Jammu & Kashmir) 3-2 (11-9, 8-11, 11-8, 5-11, 11-7).
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PHOTO: Odisha paddler Sarthak Arya poses with trophy after winning the U-17 boys singles title at the National Ranking Table Tennis Championships in Indore on 2 November 2025.