Syndrela Das wins under-19 and women’s singles titles at National Ranking event in Kanpur on 17th birthday
Syndrela Das won both the under-19 and the women’s singles titles at a National Ranking table tennis tournament held at The Sportz Hub in Kanpur on Sunday (August 23, 2026), the day she turned 17. The West Bengal player secured the under-19 crown and then added her maiden women’s singles title at the same event.
Moments after converting a match point against friend and fellow teenager Divyanshi Bhowmick, Syndrela clenched her fist, hugged her opponent and then embraced her coach Soumyadeep Roy and mother Sushmita before breaking down during a video call with the rest of her family. “Now that I have won both the finals, it feels really nice,” Syndrela told The Hindu. “When I saw the tournament dates, I was again a tad disappointed. I was like, ‘Again I will have to keep competing on my birthday.’ But once I kept on winning through the day, I had the additional motivation of going all the way and celebrating my birthday in style. I am glad that it turned out to be a fruitful day.”
Syndrela negotiated seven matches through the day without defeat, beating Ananya Muralidharan in the youth girls’ final before overcoming Divyanshi in the senior decider. The senior final was hard-fought, with Divyanshi — who had earlier ousted Diya Chitale and top seed Yashaswini Ghorpade during the tournament — refusing to yield easily before Syndrela prevailed.
Her toughest match came in the semifinal against Swastika Ghosh, where Syndrela said she was pushed to the brink. “Swastika di was the most challenging,” she said. “She was in an unbelievable touch today, hitting backhand and forehand winners consistently. I was down 7-4 in the decider but I planned smartly thereafter and scraped through.”
The victory followed a rapid rise for the 17-year-old: she finished runner-up at the Senior Nationals in Indore in March. Syndrela’s birthday celebrations have been a travelling ritual — last year she was in Sweden on the circuit when she turned 16 — and she described this one as especially memorable. “Trust me, it will be one of the most memorable birthdays for me since I won my first national women’s title,” she said. “I am extremely hungry after sweating out all through the day,” she said, laughing. “So I am going to treat myself to a sumptuous meal along with some of my friends who are around.” For once, the birthday cake can wait.
She is now the youngest member of India’s squad for the forthcoming Asian Games.
