WTT Star Contender Chennai: Teenagers Oh Jun-sung, Miwa Harimoto crowned champions
Manav Thakkar, the last Indian standing, bowed out in the men's singles semi-finals.
Oh Jun-sung (left) was crowned the WTT Star Contender Chennai men's singles champion (Photo credit: WTT)
Teen prodigies Oh Jun-sung and Miwa Harimoto were crowned the 2025 WTT Star Contender Chennai men's and women's singles champions respectively on Sunday.
While Oh Jun-sung defeated French youngster Thibault Poret in a seven-game thriller, Hiwa Harimoto beat compatriot Honoka Hashimoto 4-2.
Earlier in the day, Manav Thakkar’s historic run came to an end in the penultimate round, leaving him as the sole Indian male player to have reached a WTT Star Contender semifinal.
South Korea’s Lim Jong-hoon and Shin Yu-bin, meanwhile, won the Mixed Doubles title with a straight-games victory.
Playing in front of a packed house at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Harimoto and Hashimoto engaged in spectacular long rallies, testing each other’s endurance and precision.
The first two games saw both players cancelling each other out, but from the third game onwards, the contest took on a new dimension under the restriction of the Expedite Rule.
Forced to play faster and more decisively with the 13-shot cap in place, Harimoto thrived under pressure, showcasing exceptional agility and tactical brilliance. Despite her opponent’s relentless resistance, the 16-year-old held her nerve to win the Women’s Singles Final.
Later, the Men’s Singles Final between Oh and Poret was a thrilling, end-to-end battle with momentum shifting at every turn. Both players displayed incredible skill and resilience, keeping the crowd on the edge of their seats.
Oh, trailing 2-3, mounted a brilliant comeback to win the last two games, sealing a dramatic victory.
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