Daijiworld Media Network - Chennai
Chennai, Mar 6: In a historic milestone for Indian table tennis, 13 players have earned direct qualification for the WTT Star Contender Chennai 2025, reflecting the country’s growing prominence on the global stage. This achievement follows the momentum generated by the Paris 2024 Olympics, marking a record number of Indian participants in all three WTT Star Contender events held in India. With a strong international presence, including Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto (World No. 4) and Hina Hayata (World No. 5), the stage is set for a thrilling tournament, set to kick off on March 25.
The tournament will feature 48-player draws in both the men’s and women’s singles, while the doubles competition will include 16 pairs across men’s, women’s, and mixed categories. With a total prize pool of USD 2,75,000, the champions will earn 600 points, making this a significant event for players and fans alike.
In women’s singles, India boasts its largest-ever representation at a WTT Star Contender event, with four players securing direct entry: Manika Batra, Sreeja Akula, Ayhika Mukherjee, and Yashaswini Ghorpade. On the men’s side, Sharath Kamal leads the charge, joined by fellow Indian stars Manav Thakkar, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, and Harmeet Desai, who have all been pivotal to India’s success in recent international competitions like the Asian Games and Asian Championships.
The tournament will be fiercely competitive, particularly in the men’s singles, where Japan’s Harimoto, the WTT Star Contender Doha 2025 champion, and Brazil’s Hugo Calderano (World No. 6) are expected to pose strong challenges. In the women’s singles, the presence of top-ranked players such as Hayata (World No. 5) and Miwa Harimoto (World No. 6) will further intensify the competition.
In the doubles category, Indian fans can look forward to seeing Manav Thakkar and Manush Shah as the highest-ranked men’s doubles pair, continuing their successful partnership. The women’s doubles will feature Ayhika and Sutirtha Mukherjee, 2022 Asian Games bronze medalists, while Yashaswini Ghorpade will team up with Diya Chitale.
The mixed doubles draw will see Shah partnering with Chitale, and Desai teaming up with Ghorpade, providing depth to India’s challenge across multiple categories.
Kamlesh Mehta, Secretary of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI), expressed pride in the achievements of Indian players, stating, “Indian table tennis has come a long way, and seeing more of our players earn entry into the main draw based on merit is a testament to that progress. A few years ago, such representation at this level was rare, but now we are competing on equal footing with the best in the world. Events like WTT Star Contender continue to drive this progress, and Chennai will challenge our players to aim higher.”
In addition to the 25 direct entries based on ITTF rankings, the singles main draw will also feature wild cards, WTT nominations, youth nominations, and qualifiers, ensuring a highly competitive field. The doubles main draw will include direct entries, wildcard pairs, and qualifiers, promising exciting matchups across the board.