India, Feb. 13 -- Mumbai's 19-year-old paddler Jash Modi reckons he has richer medals to show than a National Games gold in singles, but the victory that fetched him the title was the biggest of his career so far.

That's because the youngster defeated G Sathiyan, the Tokyo Olympian and former top 25 in the world, in the men's singles final to be crowned the 2025 National Games champion in Dehradun on Thursday. The title clash went the distance, with Modi keeping his composure to overcome a two-game deficit and a sixth-game blip and eke out a 4-3 (7-11, 6-11, 11-7, 11-8, 14-12, 6-11, 11-6) win over his seasoned opponent.

"It's the biggest win of my career, simply because it was Sathiyan at the other end," Modi said. "I was well prepared ...