WTT Youth Contender: Aadya Baheti, Rajdeep Biswas clinch U-11 girls and U-11 boys singles titles
Vadodara, Jan 5
Aadya Baheti and Rajdeep Biswas registered comfortable wins to be crowned the U-11 girls' singles and U-11 boys' singles champions, respectively, in the WTT Youth Contender 2026, presented by Sports Authority of Gujarat, at the SAMA Indoor Sports Complex in Vadodara on Monday.
In the U-11 girls' singles final, Aadya defeated Sakshya Santosh 15-13, 11-8, 12-10, while Biswas got the better of Sharvil Karambelkar 11-8, 11-6, 11-13, 11-4 to win the boys' singles final.
The second edition of the WTT Youth Contender, hosted by the Table Tennis Association of Baroda and implemented by UTT, will feature a total of 226 players competing across U-11 to U-19 age categories.
In the boys' U-15 event, Vivaan Dave defeated Rishaan Chattopadhyay 9-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-3 to advance to the quarterfinals. He will now face Rudra Jena, who got the better of U-13 boys' singles champion Dev Pranav Bhatt 11-4, 11-8, 11-5.
U-15 girls' singles top seed Ankolika Chakraborty, second seed Naisha Rewaskar, and the up-and-coming Tanishka Kalbhairav also booked their last eight spot with comfortable wins over their respective opponents.
The top seeds in the U-19 girls' and boys' singles also advanced to the quarterfinals without breaking much sweat.
Earlier on Sunday, defending champion Syndrela Das, top seed Divyanshi Bhowmick, and Japan's Miku Matsushima began their girls' U-19 singles campaign with impressive wins in their respective groups in the WTT Youth Contender 2026.
Syndrela, who clinched the U-17 title on Saturday, defeated Archismita Mahato 11-7, 11-7, 11-8 in Group 3, while Divyanshi defeated Shrestha Kontham 11-4, 11-3, 11-7 in Group 1.
In Group 2, Miku began with an 11-3, 11-6, 11-4 win over Gunjan Kumar. The top seeds in the boys' U-19 category were also assured of a spot in the knockout stage, as they registered two wins each in their respective groups.
The U-15 top seeds also advanced to the knockout stage with comfortable wins in their groups.
Last week, Syndrela Das and Rupam Sardar registered comfortable victories to clinch the U-17 girls and U-17 boys singles titles in the WTT Youth Contender 2026 at the SAMA Indoor Sports Complex, while Divija Paul and Dev Pranav Bhat were crowned the U-13 girls and boys champions, respectively.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Great to see Vadodara hosting such a big event. 226 players is a huge number! These youth contenders are the pipeline for our national team. Hope they get consistent support and training.
Syndrela Das is on fire! Winning U-17 and then starting strong in U-19. That's some serious talent and hard work. Also good to see international players like Miku from Japan participating. Raises the competition level.
While the wins are fantastic, I hope the focus remains on long-term development and not just early success. We've seen many child prodigies fade away due to pressure. Let them enjoy the game first.
The depth across age groups is impressive. From U-11 to U-19, we have multiple players performing. This is how you build a strong sporting culture. Kudos to all the coaches and parents behind these kids.
So many promising girls! Aadya, Ankolika, Naisha, Tanishka, Syndrela, Divyanshi... the list goes on. Women's sports in India is truly rising. 💪 Hope they get equal opportunities and media coverage as they grow.
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