WTT Star Contender 2025: Sharath Kamal show continues strongly with straight games win

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], March 28 (ANI): Five-time Olympian Achanta Sharath Kamal rolled back the years with a straight-games win over tenth seed Nicholas Lum at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Star Contender Chennai 2025 on Friday.
Sharath led three more Indians into the Round of 16 after Manav Thakkar and Snehit Suravajjula progressed from Men's Singles while Krittwika Roy advanced from Women's Singles, as per a press release from WTT.
WTT Star Contender Chennai 2025 Presented By IndianOil is organised 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.
Playing an opponent 23 years younger in Men's Singles, Sharath displayed unmatched wit and vision by using Lum's agility and momentum against him, eventually taking the first two games by identical 11-8 scorelines. Unleashing devastating finishers on both his forehand and backhand, Sharath opened a five-point lead in the third game, before finishing Lum off with a scintillating down-the-line backhand smash.
The 42-year-old will play his usual Men's Doubles partner Snehit in the Round of 16 on Saturday, after the youngster came from two games down to stage a remarkable comeback win against seventh seed Yukiya Uda of Japan.
Earlier in the day, Manav Thakkar kept his hopes of silverware alive with a confident win against eleventh seed Finn Luu in Men's Singles. Thakkar and Luu exchanged games early, but the former gained the upper hand early in the third game and retained his lead until the end of a 3-1 win. In Women's Singles, Indian Wildcard Krittwika pulled off a thrilling victory over tenth seed Sreeja Akula in the Round of 32, emerging triumphant in a five-game battle 3-2 to book her spot in the next round.
Elsewhere, Men's and Women's Singles' top seeds Tomokazu Harimoto, Hugo Calderano, Hina Hayata, and Miwa Harimoto all advanced to the Round of 16. Harimoto overcame Maharu Yoshimura in a hard-fought encounter, while Calderano battled back to beat Ho Kwan Kit 3-1. Hina Hayata dispatched Li Yu-Jhun 3-0, and Miwa Harimoto earned a straightforward win over Yeh Yi-Tian.
The Men's Doubles semifinals at WTT Star Contender Chennai 2025 saw top seeds Tomokazu Harimoto and Sora Matsushima edge past Wong Chun Ting and Chan Baldwin in a five-game thriller, winning 3-2. Meanwhile, Korea Republic's Lim Jong-hoon and An Jae-hyun defeated India's Wildcard duo Sharath and Snehit 3-1. In Women's Doubles, Miwa Harimoto and Miyuu Kihara ousted top seeds Satsuki Odo and Sakura Yokoi 3-0, while Korea Republic's Shin Yu-bin and Ryu Hanna advanced with a 3-0 win over Joo Cheonhui and Miyu Nagasaki.
The tournament will continue with the Main Draw on Saturday across all five categories, with Finals scheduled for Men's Doubles and Women's Doubles.
Full Results (Main Draw, Day 2)
Men's Singles (Round of 32)
Manav Thakkar (IND) Vs. Finn Luu (AUS) [11] 3-1: 11-4, 7-11, 11-5, 11-8
Achanta Sharath Kamal (IND) Vs. Nicholas Lum (AUS) [10] 3-0: 11-8, 11-8, 11-9
Omar Assar (EGY) [5] Vs. Kwan Man Ho (HKG) [Q] 3-1: 4-11, 11-7, 11-3, 12-10
Andre Bertelsmeier (GER) Vs. An Jae-hyun (KOR) [6] 3-1: 13-11, 11-8, 9-11, 12-10
Flavien Coton (FRA) Vs. Alvaro Robles (ESP) [9] 3-1: 11-1, 11-3, 6-11, 13-11
Tomislav Pucar (CRO) [15] Vs. Yuta Tanaka (JPN) 3-1: 11-8, 12-10, 10-12, 11-8
Sora Matsushima (JPN) [8] Vs. Payas Jain (IND) [Q] 3-1: 11-5, 11-1, 10-12, 11-7
Feng Yi-Hsin (TPE) Vs. Quadri Aruna (NIG) [4] 3-0: 13-11, 11-8, 11-8
Jonathan Groth (DEN) [3] Vs. Harmeet Desai (IND) 3-0: 11-6, 11-7, 12-10
Thibault Poret (FRA) Vs. Hwan Bae (AUS) [14] 3-0: 18-16, 11-7, 11-7
Snehit Suravajjula (IND) [WC] Vs. Yukiya Uda (JPN) [7] 8-11, 11-13, 11-9, 11-7, 12-10
Lim Jong-hoon (KOR) [16] Vs. Manush Shah (IND) [WC] 3-0: 11-9, 11-8, 11-7
Tomokazu Harimoto (JPN) [1] Vs. Maharu Yoshimura (JPN) 3-2: 11-3, 11-3, 8-11, 7-11, 11-9
Liao Cheng-Ting (TPE) Vs. Won Chin Ting (HKG) [13] 3-2: 11-7, 11-7, 9-11, 5-11, 11-8
Oh Junsung (KOR) [12] Vs. Chan Baldwin (HKG) 3-1: 11-9, 11-7, 6-11, 14-12
Hugo Calderano (BRA) [2] Vs. Ho Kwan Kit [Q] 3-1: 9-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-9
Women's Singles (Round of 32)
Miyuu Kihara (IND) [7] Vs. Kavya Bhatt (IND) [Q] 3-0: 11-3, 11-9, 11-5
Lee Eun-hye (KOR) [16] Vs. Debora Vivarelli (ITA) 3-2: 12-10, 5-11, 9-11, 11-4, 11-9
Huang Yu-Jie (TPE) Vs. Manika Batra (IND) [9] 3-1: 11-7, 12-10, 7-11, 11-9
Joo Cheonhui (KOR) [11] Vs. Ayhika Mukherjee (IND) 3-0: 16-14, 11-4, 11-5
Satsuki Odo (JPN) [3] Vs. Zeng Jian (SGP) 3-2: 11-3, 4-11, 11-7, 10-12, 11-9
Kim Na-yeong (KOR) Vs. Doo Hoi Kem (HKG) [15] 3-2: 10-12, 11-7, 11-5, 3-11, 11-6
Shin Yu-bin (KOR) [4] Vs. Divyanshi Bhowmick (IND) [Q] 3-1: 11-13, 11-4, 11-7, 12-10
Adriana Diaz (PUR) [6] Vs. Syndrela Das (IND) [Q] 3-0: 11-7, 11-9, 11-6
Yuan Wan (GER) Vs. Cheng I-Ching (TPE) [5] 3-2: 11-8, 12-14, 6-11, 11-5, 12-10
Huang Yi-Hua (TPE) [12] Vs. Jee Minhyung (AUS) 3-0: 12-10, 11-2, 11-8
Krittwika Roy [WC] Vs. Sreeja Akula (IND) [10] 3-2: 11-6, 11-9, 6-11, 4-11, 11-7
Miwa Harimoto (JPN) [2] Vs. Yeh Yi-Tian (TPE) 3-0: 11-9, 12-10, 11-8
Miyu Nagasaki (JPN) [8] Vs. Zhu Chengzhu (HKG) 3-1: 12-10, 11-3, 9-11, 11-3
Honoka Hashimoto (JPN) [13] Vs. Jieni Shao (POR) 3-0: 11-0, 11-3, 11-6
Sakura Yokoi (JPN) [14] Vs. Diya Chitale (IND) [WC] 3-0: 11-8, 11-9, 11-6
Hina Hayata (JPN) [1] Vs. Li Yu-Jhun (TPE) 3-0: 11-5, 11-9, 11-6
Men's Doubles (Quarterfinals)
Wong Chun Ting (HKG)/Chan Baldwin (HKG) Vs. Yiu Kwan To (HKG)/Ho Kwan Kit (HKG) 3-1: 9-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-5
Achanta Sharath Kamal (IND)/Snehit Suravajjula (IND) [WC] Vs. Manush Shah (IND)/Manav Thakkar (IND) [2] 3-2: 11-9, 9-11, 6-11, 11-8, 14-12
Lim Jong-hoon (KOR)/An Jae-hyun (KOR) [3] Vs. Esteban Dorr (FRA)/Thibault Poret (FRA) 3-0: 11-9, 11-6, 11-2
Tomokazu Harimoto (JPN)/Sora Matsushima (JPN) [1] Vs. Hwan Bae (AUS)/Flavien Coton (FRA) [Q] 3-0: 11-9, 11-8, 11-8
(Semifinals)
Lim Jong-hoon (KOR)/An Jae-hyun (KOR) [3] Vs. Achanta Sharath Kamal (IND)/Snehit Suravajjula (IND) [WC] 3-1: 9-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-6
Tomokazu Harimoto (JPN)/Sora Matsushima (JPN) [1] Vs. Wong Chun Ting (HKG)/Chan Baldwin (HKG) 3-2: 11-7, 11-8, 5-11, 8-11, 11-7
Women's Doubles (Quarterfinals)
Miwa Harimoto (JPN)/Miyuu Kihara (JPN) [3] Vs. Diya Chitale (IND)/Yashaswini Ghorpade (IND) 3-0: 11-2, 11-3, 11-2
Satsuki Odo (JPN)/Sakura Yokoi (JPN) [1] Vs. Sreeja Akula (IND)/Swastika Ghosh (IND) [WC] 3-0: 11-3, 12-10, 11-8
Shin Yu-bin (KOR)/Rya Hanna (KOR) [Q] Vs. Zhu Chengzhu (HKG)/NG Wing Lam (HKG) 3-0: 11-7, 11-7, 11-3
Joo Cheonhui (KOR)/Miyu Nagasaki (JPN) [4] Vs. Barbora Balazova (SVK)/Jee Minhyung (AUS) 3-0: 11-6, 11-9, 11-9
(Semifinals)
Shin Yu-bin (KOR)/Ryu Hanna (KOR) [Q] Vs. Joo Cheonhui (KOR)/Miyu Nagasaki (JPN) 3-0: 11-7, 11-8, 13-11
Miwa Harimoto (JPN)/Miyuu Kihara (JPN) [3] Vs. Satsuki Odo (JPN)/Sakura Yokoi (JPN) [1] 3-0: 11-9, 11-9, 11-8
Mixed Doubles (Quarterfinals)
Wong Chun Ting (HKG)/Doo Hoi Kem (HKG) [1] Vs. Hwan Bae (AUS)/Barbora Balazova (SVK) 3-0: 11-1, 11-7, 12-10
Maharu Yoshimura (JPN)/Satsuki Odo (JPN) [Q] Vs. Sora Matsushima (JPN)/Miwa Harimoto (JPN) 3-2: 2-11, 11-9, 11-4, 10-12, 11-5
Lim Jong-hoon (KOR)/Shin Yu-bin (KOR) [2] Vs. Chan Baldwin (HKG)/Zhu Chengzhu (HKG) [Q] 3-1: 12-10, 5-11, 11-9, 11-8
Manush Shah (IND)/Diya Chitale (IND) [4] Vs. Akash Pal (IND)/Poymantee Baisya (IND) [Q] 3-1: 13-11, 11-13, 12-10, 11-5
(Semifinals)
Lim Jong-hoon (KOR)/Shin Yu-bin (KOR) [2] Vs. Manush Shah (IND)/Diya Chitale (IND) [4] 3-0: 11-7, 11-9, 11-3
Maharu Yoshimura (JPN)/Satsuki Odo (JPN) [Q] Vs Wong Chun Ting (HKG)/Doo Hoi Kem (HKG) [1] 3-2: 11-4, 11-2, 6-11, 5-11, 11-7. (ANI)