Kanak Jha has successfully defended his US National Title at the 2017 SuperMicro US National Table Tennis Championships at the Silverton Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas. Coming up against the young gun - 14 year old Nikhil Kumar, would have plenty of challenges.



The young left handed player from California had played outstandingly to reach the final, beating the very experienced two-time Olympian Khoa Nguyen in the quarterfinals and then US National Team member Kunal Chodri in the semifinal. Kumar was in great form and hoping to become the youngest ever player to win the title.



Kanak of course hadn't dropped a single game and was looking to follow in the footsteps of Lily Zhang who had just left center court having defended her Women's National Title without dropping a game (read more). If Kanak were to win it would be the first time since 1997-1998 that both a Men's and Women's title had been defended - at that time by Cheng Yinghua and Gao Jun.



The game had plenty of nailbiting moments and Nikhil Kumar certainly brought some good form to he match. The main difference lay in how the games were closed out and it was the experience of Jha which prevailed in those situations. With the game drawing near an end in the first set it was Jha who battled to win 11-9 and take the early advantage. Continuing with his outstanding control and placement he was able to continue to control throughout the match.



Kumar of course pushed his opponent hard and played some unbelievable points, the second game was crucial with it going to deuce. Both players put everything out on the table, Kumar wanting to level the score and Kanak looking to stretch his lead. It was in the clutches of the game that Jha was able to squeeze out a 16-14 win.



Riding the wave of confidence in his lead it was Kanak Jha who continued to increase his hold on the match. While Kumar continued to pump himself up and work for every point it was Jha who put himself in position to win with a 3-0 lead. One more game and he would clear the draw without losing a game.



With victory in sight it was Kanak Jha who pushed even harder as the finish line appeared on the horizon. Taking a bigger lead going into the fourth it was 17 year old Olympian Kanak Jha who asserted his determination over his opponent and closed out the final game 11-1 in decisive style.



A great effort by both players. A huge thank you to the spectators for coming to the event and joining us on the live stream - of course all this not possible without the help of David Del Vecchio and his team, the commentators, hosts, USATT staff, sponsors SuperMirco, Joola, Butterfly and Paddle Palace, The Triode Media Group team, Eventure, Silverton Casino staff, Officials, players, coaches, parents and supporters. An amazing way to celebrate a field of amazing players. For Kanak Jha $8000 in prize money and a second consecutive National Title. Well done!