From July 3rd to Jul 9th, the 2026 U.S. National Championships at San Jose, CA.

U11 Boys Event

• Aaron Li (rating 1999) had an excellent group stage, finishing first in his group with a 3–0 match record and a perfect 9–0 game record. Aaron then met Shuban Baviskar in the U11 preliminary elimination round and lost 0–3 (7–11, 7–11, 7–11), ending his run before the final eight. Overall, Aaron’s U11B performance was 3–1 in matches and 9–3 in games. His group play showed consistent control, particularly against lower-rated opponents. Against Baviskar, the identical 7–11 games suggest a competitive but repetitive pattern; finding a way to alter service/receive patterns or create an earlier advantage in each game would be the key lesson from the event.

• Yug Sinha (rating 2037) delivered a strong performance, finishing 6th in U11 Boys’ Singles. He dominated Group 7, placing first with a 3–0 match record and a perfect 9–0 game record. In the final eight, Sinha lost the opening match to eventual champion Allen Mao, 0–3. He responded with a 3–0 win over Frank Sun (11–7, 11–4, 11–6), then lost the fifth-place match to Shuban Baviskar, 0–3 (6–11, 5–11, 8–11), placing sixth. Overall, Yug showed excellent control in group play and resilience after the opening-round loss. His main opportunity for improvement is converting chances against the very top seeds—particularly creating more pressure in the first game, where narrow early margins can define the match.

U13 Girl Event

• Emma Yang (2145) won the U13G event, finishing 1st with a perfect 6–0 match record. She topped her group, then defeated Isabella Joseph (3–0), Clarice Ho (3–0), Isabella Gao (3–1), and Anya Shanbhag (3–0) in the final. Her 3–0 championship win over Shanbhag (11–5, 11–5, 11–9) capped a highly controlled performance. Emma’s standout qualities were consistency and decisive finishing: she won four of her six matches in straight games, including every match after the semifinals. Her two tougher tests—a five-game group match against Adelaide Luter and a four-game semifinal against Gao—showed that she could recover from lost games and still close strongly.

• Anna Naumova (1833) finished second in her preliminary group with a 2–1 match record. She did not progress to the elimination stage. Anna’s two wins were emphatic, giving up just 15 points across six games. The key separator was the match with Srinivasan: Anna lost 8–11, 6–11, 2–11. Improving her ability to sustain pressure against the strongest player in the group would be the clearest path toward advancing in a similar field.

U13 Boys Event

• Riaan Lodha had a very strong group phase, beating Jayden Dong in four games after dropping the opener, then defeating Tristan Lam and James Lin 3–0. His run ended in the preliminary elimination round against Allen Mao, 0–3 (9, 8, 2 as listed). The group performance showed consistency and the ability to recover under pressure; the next step is carrying that level into matches against the top seeds. 

• Yug Sinha also went undefeated in his group. His best result was a five-game comeback over Max Cheng after trailing 0–2; he then beat Rohit Cherukuri and Christopher Hu in straight games. Yug lost to Joey Yang in the preliminary round, 1–3, but his group stage demonstrated excellent resilience and a high ceiling. 

• Aaron Li earned two clean 3–0 wins over Damon Chew and Kethan Bikkina, but lost 0–3 to Richik Ghosh in group play. His 2–1 record was not enough to reach the elimination draw. The decisive opportunity was the Ghosh match: stronger returns and a better start against higher-rated opposition would be the clearest priorities.

U15 Girls Event

• Emma Yang: Playing up an age group, Emma won her group and earned a five-game preliminary-round victory over Angela He. In the final-eight phase, she lost to Irene Yeoh in the quarterfinals and Anya Shanbhag in a placement semifinal, but finished strongly by beating Amanda Liu 3–0 to secure seventh place. The U15 event was tougher, with several higher-rated opponents, but Emma's win over Angela He and her 7th-place match victory showed she could compete effectively at that level.

• Anna Naumova finished third in Group 7 with a 1–2 match record, so she did not advance to the elimination stage. 

U15 Boys Event

• Riaan Lodha finished second in Group 19. He defeated Ryan Yin and Leo Cai, both 3–0, and lost 0–3 to group winner Thomas Sui. Lodha’s play was highly efficient in his two wins—he did not drop a game.

• Ishan Rangdal finished second in Group 22. He defeated Knox Vicars 3–1 and Charles Oberg 3–0, while losing a close five-game match to group winner Jishnu Talukdar, 2–3. That match was the decisive one: Rangdal took two games and was competitive throughout, indicating he was close to winning the group. His strongest takeaway is his ability to rebound after a difficult opening match; the next step is improving late-game execution in deciding games.

Other Notable Events

• Emma Yang: On top of the U13G singles title and U15G top 8, Emma also won a U13 doubles title, made finals in U13G doubles and U15G doubles, and reached to Round of 16 in U15 Mixed Doubles. That combination indicates strong performance across individual play, same-gender doubles, mixed doubles, and older age-group competition.

From April 10th to 14th, four BTT members continued to compete in the 2025 Junior National Ranking Tournament II at the Houston International Table Tennis Academy (HITTA) in Katy, Texas, joining a field of 184 young players.

• Anna Naumova earned 3rd place finish in U13G group stage.

• Aaron Li achieved a top-4 finish in U11B and advanced to the top 32 in U13B.

• Yug Sinha finished 13th place in U11B and earned 2nd place in U13B's group stage. 

• Emma Yang delivered an outstanding performance, earning 2nd place in U13G, and 7th place in U15G.

From January 16th to 20th, five BTT members competed in the 2026 Junior National Ranking Tournament I at Fremont CA, joining a field of 328 young players.

• Yug Sinha, a first-time participant, delivered several remarkable performances and secured 9th place in the U11B category. He also competed in U13B category.

• Anna Naumova competed in U13G.

• Aaron Li achieved an impressive 3rd place finish in the U11B category, and he also competed in U13B category.

• Ishan Rangdal competed in both U15B and U19B.

• Riaan Lodha competed in both U13B and U15B.

• Emma Yang, a member of U11G and U13G team since 2023, showcased her experience and determination in her fourth appearance, earning an impressive 2nd place in the U13G category.

About this tournament's seeding and selection rules:

Progressive selection with snake seeding is a method used to fairly distribute players across groups while maintaining a balanced level of competition. It combines progressive selection (sequential assignment based on rankings) with snake seeding (a zigzag pattern to ensure fairness).

 In the first round, up to 64 players were paired based on their ratings across 32 tables. Winners from each table advanced to the next round of Placements 1-2, while the others moved into Placements 3-4. This process continued, with winners and losers from each match progressing into different placement groups, until the final rankings were determined.