The opening day of the WTT Star Contender Chennai saw a major surprise as former U-17 World No. 1, Payas Jain, knocked out Commonwealth Games and Asian Games medallist Sathiyan Gnanasekaran in a thrilling Round of 64 match on Thursday.
Top Seeds Shine in Doubles
Harimoto and Matsushima lead the men’s doubles, while Harimoto and Kihara dominate the women’s doubles
Japanese top-seeds Tomokazu Harimoto and Sora Matsushima showed their class, dominating their men’s doubles clash, while Miwa Harimoto and Miyuu Kihara mirrored their success in the women’s doubles draw, claiming smooth victories.
Sharath Kamal Starts Strong in Farewell Event
Indian legend Sharath Kamal begins his final tournament with a dominant win
In his farewell event, Indian table tennis legend Sharath Kamal began with a commanding 3-0 victory over qualifier Anirban Ghosh. Later, he teamed up with Snehit Suravajjula in the men’s doubles, defeating Australia’s Nicholas Lum and Finn Luu in a thrilling five-game battle.
Indian Players Excel in Men’s Singles
Manav Thakkar, Harmeet Desai, and Manush Shah make strong starts
The Gujarat trio of Manav Thakkar, Harmeet Desai, and Manush Shah made solid progress in the men’s singles. Manav and Harmeet powered through their matches, winning in straight games against qualifiers Divyansh Srivastava and Kim Taehyun, respectively. Meanwhile, wildcard Manush Shah fought back from a game down to defeat Italian qualifier John Oyebode in a hard-fought match.
Ayhika Mukherjee Triumphs in All-Indian Women’s Clash
In an exciting battle, Ayhika Mukherjee edges past Sutirtha Mukherjee in five games
In an intense all-Indian women’s singles match, Ayhika Mukherjee triumphed over her wildcard opponent and doubles partner, Sutirtha Mukherjee, in a five-game thriller.
The WTT Star Contender Chennai event offers 600 ranking points and a USD 275,000 prize purse, featuring some of the world’s best table tennis players.