Table Tennis
WTT Star Contender Chennai 2025: Sharath, Krittwika enter singles R16
Manav Thakkar and Snehit Suravajjula also advanced to the pre-quarter-finals.
Five-time Olympian Achanta Sharath Kamal rolled back the years with a straight-games win over tenth seed Nicholas Lum at the WTT Star Contender Chennai 2025 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.
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 score lines.
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.
