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Manush-Diya Survive Scare, Ankur Shines at WTT Star Contender Chennai

India's top mixed doubles pair, Manush Shah and Diya Chitale, survived a major scare, saving three match points to defeat Korean qualifiers and advance to the quarterfinals. Youngster Ankur Bhattacharjee also impressed, winning his singles match and advancing in mixed doubles with partner Swastika Ghosh. In other action, Harmeet Desai secured wins in both singles and mixed doubles, while wild cards Payas Jain and Syndrela Das set up an all-Indian quarterfinal clash. The event saw several close matches, including Snehit Suravajjula's comeback victory and a strong showing from 15-year-old Divyanshi Bhowmick.

Key Points: WTT Star Contender 2026: Indian Duo Advances to Quarters

  • Manush Shah & Diya Chitale save 3 match points
  • Ankur Bhattacharjee wins singles & mixed doubles
  • Harmeet Desai advances in singles & doubles
  • Indian wild cards Payas Jain & Syndrela Das reach quarters
2 min read

WTT Star Contender 2026: Manush-Diya survive scare to reach mixed doubles quarters

Manush Shah & Diya Chitale save 3 match points to reach mixed doubles quarters. Ankur Bhattacharjee, Harmeet Desai also advance in Chennai.

"the home favourites emerged victorious 3-2... to reach the quarterfinals - WTT Press Release"

Chennai, February 12

India's top mixed doubles combination of Manush Shah and Diya Chitale and youngster Ankur Bhattacharjee registered contrasting wins to advance in the World Table Tennis Star Contender Chennai 2026, co-hosted by Ultimate Table Tennis, Sharath Kamal Academy, and Stupa Sports AI with the support of SDAT at the Tamil Nadu Physical Education and Sports University here on Thursday.

Manush and Diya, who recently won the WTT Contender Muscat 2026, were pushed to the brink by the Korean qualifiers as they saved three match points before the home favourites emerged victorious 3-2 (10-12, 11-6, 12-10, 5-11, 12-10) in 42 minutes to reach the quarterfinals.

Later in the day, qualifier Ankur sent Frenchman Florian Bourrassaud packing with a 3-1 (11-5, 11-8, 3-11, 11-9) win. He will now face the 14th-seeded Kazuhiro Yoshimura of Japan in the second round, according to a WTT press release.

Ankur also advanced to the mixed doubles quarterfinals alongside Swastika Ghosh after they defeated the Korean combination of Park Gyuhyeon and Kim Nayeong 3-2 (11-9, 3-11, 11-8, 6-11, 11-9). They will now face fourth seeds Harmeet Desai and Yashaswini Ghorpade, who defeated Darius Movileanu and Andrea Dragoman of Romania 3-0 (11-8, 11-4, 11-7).

In the other quarterfinals, Manush and Diya will face Indian wild cards Payas Jain and Syndrela Das, who defeated Kazakhstan's Iskender Kharki and Sarvinoz Mirkadirova 11-8, 11-6, 11-7 in their first round clash.

Among the other results, Snehit Suravajjula fought back from a 1-2 deficit to beat Divyansh Srivastava 3-2 (9-11, 11-8, 6-11, 11-7, 11-6) to set up a second-round clash against Japanese 13th seed Mizuki Oikawa.

Harmeet also advanced to the second round with a convincing 3-1 (11-8, 12-10, 9-11, 11-8) over Iulian Chirita of Romania.

In the women's singles Round of 64 clash, 15-year-old Divyanshi Bhowmick put up a good fight against WTT Feeder Series Vadodara 2026 winner Ryu Hanna of Korea but ended up on the wrong end of a 3-1 (6-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-5) scoreline.

Later in the day, Diya defeated wild card Anusha Kutumbale 3-0 (11-8, 12-10, 11-8) to advance to the second round.

- ANI

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Reader Comments

R
Rohit P
Great win, but a bit concerned about the other results. Our top men's doubles pair losing in the first round is disappointing. We need more consistency across all categories, not just mixed doubles.
A
Ananya R
So happy to see an event of this level in Chennai! Hosting a WTT Star Contender is a big deal. Shoutout to SDAT and the organizers. The local crowd support must have been amazing for our players. 🏓
V
Vikram M
Two all-Indian quarterfinals in mixed doubles! This is fantastic for the sport's depth in our country. Payas & Syndrela as wild cards causing an upset, and the young pair of Ankur & Swastika winning a tight one. Future is here.
S
Sarah B
Heart goes out to Divyanshi Bhowmick. Only 15 and putting up a fight against a seasoned Korean winner. That's a huge learning experience. She'll come back stronger. The focus on developing young talent is really paying off.
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Karthik V
Manush Shah had a mixed day - great win in mixed doubles but a loss in men's doubles. Shows how tough it is to compete in multiple events at this level. Hope he can focus and go all the way in the mixed now! #CheeringForIndia

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