WTT Star Contender Chennai 2026: Desai-Ghorpade finish runners-up in mixed doubles
Chennai, February 15
India's Harmeet Desai and Yashaswini Ghorpade claimed the mixed doubles runners-up medal after they went down in the final against Romanian second seeds Eduard Ionescu and Bernadette Szocs in the World Table Tennis Star Contender Chennai 2026.
Desai and Ghorpade lost the final 3-0 (11-9, 11-2, 11-8) to mark the best finish for an Indian pairing in the four editions of the WTT Star Contender India, as per a press release.
Meanwhile, Czechia's Lubomir Jancarik continued his dream run in the competition by beating Korea Republic's Park Ganghyeon 3-2 (13-15, 11-7, 5-11, 11-7, 11-9) and will take on French fifth seed Thibault Poret, who is gunning for a double crown after winning the men's doubles title with Flavien Coton in the second edition of the WTT Star Contender Chennai 2026, co-hosted by Ultimate Table Tennis, Sharath Kamal Academy, and Stupa Sports AI with the support of SAI, Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) & SDAT.
The women's singles final will be an all-Japanese affair between top seed Satsuki Odo and 15th seed Miu Hirano.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Well played, but the scoreline in the second set (11-2) is a bit worrying. Shows a gap in consistency at the highest level. Hope they work on their mental game for the big finals. Still, congrats on the silver!
Great to see a major WTT event in Chennai! Hosting such tournaments is key for development. Kudos to Sharath Kamal Academy and all organizers. The exposure for our players is invaluable.
The Czech player Jancarik's run is incredible! Beating a Korean player in a 5-set thriller shows the depth in international table tennis. Our players need to learn from such fighting spirit.
Where are our singles players? Mixed doubles silver is good, but we need to challenge in men's and women's singles too. The finals are all foreign players. TTFI needs to focus on individual talent.
Yashaswini Ghorpade is such an inspiration for young girls in sports! To perform at this level is amazing. More power to her! Let's support our athletes better. 💪
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