Table Tennis
WTT Finals: Manush Shah-Diya Chitale knocked out after winless run
Manush Shah and Diya Chitale were the first Indians to qualify for the WTT Finals.
Manush Shah and Diya Chitale in action at 2025 WTT Finals (Photo credit: WTT)
The Indian table tennis mixed doubles pair of Manush Shah and Diya Chitale were knocked out of the 2025 WTT Finals in Hong Kong after a third successive defeat on Friday.
Shah and Chitale, ranked 9th in the world, went down 5-11, 11-7, 6-11, 6-11 to China's Lin Shidong and Kuai Mann in just under 28 minutes.
In what was a must win contest to stay in contention for a semi-final spot, the Indian duo were outplayed by the world No 1 Lin and Kuai.
The loss meant that Shah and Chitale, who are the first Indians ever to qualify for the season ending WTT Finals, end the tournament winless.
They had started their campaign on Wednesday with a 0-3 loss to China's Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha in a Group 1 clash.
Shah and Chitale put up a much better fight against world No 5 Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Kem but eventually went down 2-3 in their second match. They had a 4-1 lead in the decider before surrendering the match.
The loss against Wong-Doo pitted them in a must win situation against world No 1 Lin and Kuai.
Shah and Chitale finished on the bottom of the four-team Group 1 with no wins in three matches. The top two pairs from the group moved into the semi-finals.
