WTT Star Contender 2025: Four Indians advance to Round of 16

Five-time Olympian Achanta Sharath Kamal rolled back the years with a straight games win over 10th seed Nicholas Lum at the WTT Star Contender Chennai 2025 on Friday (March 28). 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.

The event boasts 600 ranking points for winners and a $275,000 prize purse, with top global paddlers in action.

Also read: Sharath advances in Chennai

Sharath vs Snehit in pre-quarterfinals

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 scorelines. 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.

Krittwika stuns Sreeja

In women’s singles, Indian wildcard Krittwika pulled off a thrilling victory over 10th 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 saw top seeds Tomokazu Harimoto and Sora Matsushima edge past Wong Chun Ting and Chan Baldwin in a five-game thriller, winning 3-2.

Korea Republic’s Lim Jong-hoon and An Jae-hyun defeated India’s wildcard duo Sharath and Snehit 3-1.

2 finals on Saturday

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.

WTT Star Contender will continue on Saturday across all five categories, with finals scheduled for men’s doubles and women’s doubles.

Meanwhile, all the action from Table 1 will be streamed live on SonyLiv and Tables 2, 3, and 4 on WTT’s official YouTube channel.