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Desai & Ghorpade Storm into Mixed Doubles Final at WTT Chennai

The Indian duo of Harmeet Desai and Yashaswini Ghorpade advanced convincingly to the mixed doubles final, keeping India's title hopes alive. Japan's Sakura Yokoi and Sachi Aoki claimed the women's doubles crown, while an injury led to a walkover victory for France's Flavien Coton and Thibault Poret in the men's doubles. India's challenge in the singles events ended with defeats for Sathiyan G, Manush Shah, and Nithya Mani across the men's and women's draws. The tournament saw several matches decided by walkovers due to player injuries sustained during competition.

Key Points: WTT Star Contender: India's Mixed Doubles Final, Results

  • Indian pair in mixed doubles final
  • Japan wins women's doubles
  • French duo gets walkover men's title
  • Indian singles hopes end
  • Key injuries affect draws
2 min read

WTT Star Contender: Desai-Ghorpade reach mixed doubles final, Yokoi-Aoki of Japan claim women's doubles title (Ld)

Harmeet Desai & Yashaswini Ghorpade reach mixed doubles final. Get results for men's & women's doubles, singles at WTT Chennai 2026.

"Desai and Ghorpade were in total command - Report"

Chennai, Feb 14

Fourth seeds Harmeet Desai and Yashaswini Ghorpade will carry India's lone title hope after they eased into the mixed doubles final of the WTT Star Contender Chennai 2026 at the Tamil Nadu Physical Education and Sports University in Chennai on Saturday.

Desai and Ghorpade were in total command in the all-Indian mixed doubles semifinal, beating wildcard Payas Jain and Syndrella Das 3-0 (11-9, 11-6, 11-9) in the second edition of the WTT Star Contender Chennai 2026, co-hosted by Ultimate Table Tennis, Sharath Kamal Academy, with the support of SAI, TTFI & SDAT.

The Indian combination will now face the second seeds Eduard Ionescu and Bernadette Szocs of Romania, who advanced after the third seeds Oh Junsung of Korea and Miku Nagasaki of Japan conceded the match while trailing 1-2.

Oh's injury meant that the unseeded French combination of Flavien Coton and Thibault Poret were crowned men's doubles champions without playing a single point in the final.

Japan's Sakura Yokoi and Sachi Aoki turned out to be too strong for Korean top seeds Ryu Hanna and Kim Nayeong in the women's doubles final, winning 3-1 (11-6, 6-11, 11-8, 11-8).

Earlier, India's hopes in men's singles were dashed as Czechia's Lubomir Jancarik claimed his third consecutive victory over a host paddler, this time beating Sathiyan G 3-0 (11-6, 11-8, 13-11) in the quarterfinals.

Jancarik had defeated Manush Shah in the pre-quarters and Manav Thakar in the second round and will now face the Republic of Korea's Park Ganghyeon in the semifinals.

Earlier, Sathiyan kept Indian hopes alive in men's singles as he fought back from a 1-2 deficit to beat Ionescu 3-2 (9-11, 11-3, 10-12, 11-7, 11-5) to advance. He will now face Czechia's Lubomir Jancarik, who got the better of India's Manush Shah 3-1 (11-4, 13-11, 5-11, 13-11).

Meanwhile, Sehit Suravajjula's giant-killings run came to an end when he went down 3-1 (11-6, 10-12, 15-13, 11-7) against top seed Oh Junsung.

The Korean, however, has given a walkover to Frenchman Thibault Poret in the quarterfinals after he injured himself during the mixed doubles semifinals. India's challenge in women's singles also came to an end after qualifier Nithya Mani lost 3-1 (9-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-8) against Chinese Taipei's fourth seed Cheng I-Ching in the pre-quarterfinals.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

S
Sarah B
The injury to Oh Junsung really changed the tournament dynamics. It's unfortunate for the competition when a final is decided by a walkover. Hope he recovers soon.
V
Vikram M
Sathiyan's loss to Jancarik is a tough one. The Czech player seems to have our number this tournament. We need to analyze his game better for future encounters. On the bright side, hosting such events in Chennai is fantastic for the sport's growth in India.
P
Priya S
Yashaswini Ghorpade is such an inspiration! To reach the final as the lone Indian hope puts a lot of pressure, but I believe they can do it. The Japanese women's doubles pair was simply too strong, a lesson for our players.
R
Rohit P
A bit disappointed with the overall performance if I'm honest. Only one pair in the finals, and our top singles players couldn't make a deeper run. The SAI and TTFI need to ensure better preparation for home tournaments. We have the talent.
K
Kavya N
Shoutout to Sehit Suravajjula for his giant-killing run! Taking a game off the top seed is no small feat. These performances by lesser-known players give me hope for the future depth of Indian table tennis. 💪

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