Chennai, March 27, 2025
Former ITTF Youth World No. 1 (U-17) Payas Jain produced the biggest upset of the opening day at the WTT Star Contender Chennai 2025, knocking out Commonwealth Games and Asian Games medallist Sathiyan Gnanasekaran in the Men’s Singles Round of 64.
Meanwhile, top-seeded Japanese duo Tomokazu Harimoto and Sora Matsushima dominated their Men’s Doubles clash, while Miwa Harimoto and Miyuu Kihara mirrored their success in the Women’s Doubles draw.
Later in the day, Indian table tennis legend Achanta Sharath Kamal began his farewell event with a confident, straight games win over qualifier Anirban Ghosh. Sharath also partnered with Snehit Suravajjula in Men’s Doubles to defeat Australia’s Nicholas Lum and Finn Luu in a five-game thriller.
WTT Star Contender Chennai 2025 by Stupa Sports Analytics and Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) under the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI). The event boasts 600 ranking points for winners and a USD 275,000 prize purse, with top global paddlers in action.
Gujarat trio Manav Thakkar, Harmeet Desai, and Manush Shah made strong starts in the Men’s Singles on Thursday. Manav and Harmeet cruised through in straight games, defeating qualifiers Divyansh Srivastava and Kim Taehyun, respectively. Wildcard Manush overcame a slow start, rallying from a game down to edge past Italian qualifier John Oyebode in a hard-fought encounter.
In a gripping all-Indian Women’s Singles clash, Ayhika Mukherjee edged past Wildcard–and her usual doubles partner–Sutirtha Mukherjee in a five-game thriller.
Trading games throughout, Ayhika’s defensive prowess proved crucial as she clinched the decider 12-10 to move into the next round. Later, 15-year-old Syndrela Das and 14-year-old Divyanshi Bhowmick showcased incredible grit, both staging stunning comebacks to secure thrilling five-game victories in their respective Women’s Singles clashes.
Top-seeded Hong Kong duo Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Kem asserted their dominance in Mixed Doubles, securing a straight games win. In Women’s Doubles, Diya Chitale and Yashaswini Ghorpade battled past qualifiers Taneesha Kotecha and Sayali Wani.
Opponents earlier in the day, Ayhika and Sutirtha, later teamed up for a Round of 16 clash but were defeated in one of the day’s many surprises by the Wildcard pairing of Sreeja Akula and Swastika Ghosh.(Agency)
