His game defined, Manav Thakkar now in search of mastery

Even as he squandered an 8-1 lead while trying to force a decider against world No 5 Truls Moregardh at the 2026 WTT Champions in Doha, Manav Thakkar had a grin on his face.

This is the level where he always wanted to be. He wanted to qualify for the Champions events – the highest tier of WTT competitions – and wanted to test himself against the best in the world.

While he displayed that he is no pushover with a come-from-behind victory over world No 17 Simon Gauzy in the first round, pushing Moregardh to his limit in the pre-quarterfinals gave him the confidence that he belongs.

"The best thing from here for Manav is not the result itself but the awareness that he can be in the top 20 of the world," said Indian national coach Massimo Costantini, who has seen him rise through the ranks from his teenage years, to The Bridge.

It was under Costantini’s guidance that Thakkar had climbed to world No 1 in the U18 age group back in 2018. Since the Italian coach rejoined the Indian setup two years back, Thakkar has once again shown massive improvements.

Over the past few years, Thakkar was stuck. He was still trying to figure out what his true gamestyle is. Is he a passive player? Is he an aggressive player? Or is he a mixture of both?

The answer to the question, however, lay in something else altogether: Speed.

"For the last couple of years since I joined, Manav was still searching for what is the game that he has to play. I used to tell him he needs to exploit his best skill, which is speed," said Costantini.

"He is definitely not a player who can control the ball softly. His game is to put pressure, starting from the service return. This is the method he was searching for," the coach added.

It was Thakkar’s speed, which took both his opponents by surprise and left the commentators spellbound in Doha. He looked light on his feet, quick to reach the ball and even quicker to change his shot at the last second.

Despite the visible improvements, there’s still a lot left to fine tune for Thakkar as evidenced by the loss to Moregardh.

"The road is very far [reaching top-20 in the world], it is not around the corner," said Costantini, in a realistic assessment.

"He has several areas where he has to control himself, especially from the mental point of view. But once you define what your game is, you are on the right track," he added.

Thakkar has defined his game, now is the time to master it.

"All these competitions are small pieces to make a proper mosaic. Manav is currently in this phase where he is putting the right tiles in the right spot," explained Costantini in a true Italian fashion.