WTT Star Contender Chennai 2025: Former youth no 1 Payas upsets Sathiyan, Olympic medallists shine

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], March 27 (ANI): Former International Table Tennis Federation
(ITTF) Youth World No. 1 (U-17) Payas Jain produced the biggest upset of the opening day at World Table Tennis (WTT) Star Contender Chennai 2025, knocking out Commonwealth Games and Asian Games medallist Sathiyan Gnanasekaran in the Men's Singles Round of 64.
Meanwhile, top-seeded Japanese duo Tomokazu Harimoto and Sora Matsushima dominated their Men's Doubles clash, while Miwa Harimoto and Miyuu Kihara mirrored their success in the Women's Doubles draw, as per a press release from WTT.
Later in the day, Indian Table Tennis legend Achanta Sharath Kamal began his farewell event with a confident, straight-games win over qualifier Anirban Ghosh. Sharath also partnered Snehit Suravajjula in Men's Doubles to defeat Australia's Nicholas Lum and Finn Luu in a five-game thriller.
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.
Gujarat trio Manav Thakkar, Harmeet Desai, and Manush Shah made strong starts in the Men's Singles on Thursday. Manav and Harmeet cruised through in straight games, defeating qualifiers Divyansh Srivastava and Kim Taehyun, respectively. Wildcard Manush overcame a slow start, rallying from a game down to edge past Italian qualifier John Oyebode in a hard-fought encounter.
In a gripping all-Indian Women's Singles clash, Ayhika Mukherjee edged past Wildcard-and her usual doubles partner-Sutirtha Mukherjee in a five-game thriller. Trading games throughout, Ayhika's defensive prowess proved crucial as she clinched the decider 12-10 to move into the next round. Later, 15-year-old Syndrela Das and 14-year-old Divyanshi Bhowmick showcased incredible grit, both staging stunning comebacks to secure thrilling five-game victories in their respective Women's Singles clashes.
Top-seeded Hong Kong duo Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Kem asserted their dominance in Mixed Doubles, securing a straight-games win. In the Women's Doubles, Diya Chitale and Yashaswini Ghorpade battled past qualifiers Taneesha Kotecha and Sayali Wani. Opposing opponents earlier in the day, Ayhika and Sutirtha later teamed up for a Round of 16 clash but were defeated in one of the day's many surprises by the Wildcard pairing of Sreeja Akula and Swastika Ghosh.
The tournament will continue with the Main Draw on Friday across all five categories. Meanwhile, action from Table 1 will be streamed live on SonyLiv and Tables 2, 3, and 4 on WTT's official YouTube channel.
Select Results- Main Draw, Day 1
Men's Singles (Round of 64)
Harmeet Desai (IND) Vs. Kim Taehyun (MLT) [WC] 3-0: 12-10, 11-5 11-5
Manav Thakkar (IND) Vs. Divyansh Srivastava (IND) [Q] 3-0: 11-4, 11-7, 11-7
Manush Shah (IND) [WC] Vs. John Oyebode (ITA) [Q] 3-1: 11-13, 12-10, 13-11, 11-6
Payas Jain (IND) [Q] Vs. Sathiyan Gnanasekaran (IND) 3-1: 11-8, 2-11, 11-8, 11-3
Achanta Sharath Kamal (IND) Vs. Anirban Ghosh (IND) [Q] 3-0: 11-7, 11-9, 12-10
Women's Singles (Round of 64)
Ayhika Mukherjee (IND) Vs. Sutirtha Mukherjee (IND) [WC] 3-2: 11-9, 7-11, 11-8, 8-11, 12-10
Kavya Bhatt (IND) [Q] Vs. Wong Hoi Tung (HKG) 3-1: 11-8, 8-11, 11-6, 11-6
Zhu Chengzhu (HKG) Vs. Yoo Yerin (KOR) [WC] 3-0: 11-6, 11-8, 11-6
Jieni Shao (POR) Vs. Barbora Balazova (SVK) 3-1: 11-7, 11-8, 11-13, 11-9
Huang Yu-Jie (TPE) Vs. Yashaswini Ghorpade (IND) 3-0: 11-9, 11-6, 11-7
Divyanshi Bhowmick (IND) [Q] Vs. Giorgia Piccolin (ITA) 3-2: 13-15, 11-9, 9-11, 11-1, 11-6
Syndrela Das (IND) [Q] Vs. Suhana Saini (IND) [WC] 3-2: 9-11, 5-11, 12-10, 11-8, 11-8
Men's Doubles (Round of 16)
Tomokazu Harimoto (JPN)/Sora Matsushima (JPN) [1] [WC] Vs. Anirban Ghosh (IND)/Sarth Mishra (IND) [Q] 3-0: 11-7, 11-8, 11-8
Achanta Sharath Kamal (IND)/Snehit Suravajjula (IND) [WC] Vs. Nicholas Lum (AUS)/Finn Luu (AUS) 3-2: 11-6, 7-11, 13-11, 6-11, 11-9
Lim Jong-hoon (KOR)/An Jae-hyun (KOR) [3] Vs. Abhinandh Pradhivadhi (IND)/Preyesh Suresh (IND) [Q] 3-2: 12-10, 11-5, 7-11, 9-11, 11-6
Manush Shah (IND)/Manav Thakkar (IND) [2] Vs. Harmeet Desai (IND)/Sathiyan Gnanasekaran (IND) [WC] 3-1: 11-7, 11-9, 7-11, 11-7
Women's Doubles (Round of 16)
Miwa Harimoto (JPN)/Miyuu Kihara (JPN) [3] Vs. Syndrela Das (IND)/Suhana Saini (IND) [WC] 3-0: 11-7, 11-8, 11-8
Diya Chitale (IND)/Yashaswini Ghorpade (IND) Vs. Taneesha Kotecha (IND)/Sayali Wani (IND) [Q] 3-1: 11-8, 5-11, 12-10, 11-5
Ayhika Mukherjee (IND)/Sutirtha Mukherjee (IND) Vs. Sreeja Akula (IND)/Swastika Ghosh (IND) [WC] 3-1: 11-7, 11-13, 11-7, 12-10
Satsuki Odo (JPN)/Sakura Yokoi (JPN) vs Kong Tsz Lam (HKG)/Lee Hoi Man (HKG) [Q] 3-1: 11-7, 11-4, 9-11, 11-2
Shin Yu-bin (KOR)/Ryu Hanna (KOR) [Q] Vs. Lee Eun-hye (KOR)/Kim Na-yeong (KOR) 3-2: 7-11, 11-2, 11-7, 6-11, 11-8
Zhu Chengzhu (HKG)/NG Wing Lam (HKG) [2] Vs. Radhapriya Goel (IND)/Nithya Mani (IND) [Q] 3-1: 6-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-7
Mixed Doubles (Round of 16)
Akash Pal (IND)/Poymantee Baisya (IND) [Q] Vs. Nicholas Lum (AUS)/Zeng Jian (SGP) 3-1: 11-6, 11-7, 11-8
Maharu Yoshimura (JPN)/Odo Satsuki (JPN) [Q] Vs. Harmeet Desai (IND)/Yashaswini Ghorpade (IND) 3-0: 11-6, 11-2, 11-8
Manush Shah (IND)/Diya Chitale (IND) [4] Vs. Ankur Bhattacharjee (IND)/Ayhika Mukherjee (IND) [Q] 3-0: 11-4, 12-10, 11-7
Sora Matsushima (JPN)/Miwa Harimoto (JPN) [3] Vs. Manav Thakkar (IND)/Manika Batra (IND) [WC] 3-0: 11-9, 11-2, 11-8
Wong Chun Ting (HKG)/Doo Hoi Kem (HKG) [1] Vs. Yiu Kwan To (HKG)/NG Wing Lam (HKG) 3-0: 11-6, 11-4, 11-9. (ANI)