Promising Odisha paddler Sarthaky Arya added yet another feather to his cap by winning the silver medal in U-17 boys singles event of the UTT 87th Inter-State Junior & Youth National Championships at the New Multipurpose Hall in Dehradun, Uttarakhand today.
In a hard-fought seven-game final, Sarthak led 2-1 and 3-2 before going down to Ritvik Gupta of Jammu & Kashmir 3-4 (8-11, 11-5, 11-9, 8-11, 11-6, 8-11, 7-11). The Odisha boy reached the final, defeating Nilay Pattekar (Maharashtra) 3-1 in quarterfinals and Dhananjay Singh (PSPBA) 4-0 in semifinals.
Sarthak Arya also put up notable performances in U-17 boys doubles and U-19 boys singles categories. In the U-17 boys doubles event, partnering with statemate Jigyanshu Sahoo, Sarthak reached the quarterfinal stage. In the U-19 boys singles category, Sarthak advanced to the quarterfinals, where he lost to PB Abhinand (Tamil Nadu) 1-3.