Achanta Sharath Kamal Shines at WTT Star Contender Chennai 2025
Sharath Kamal's Stellar Performance
Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], March 28: Five-time Olympian Achanta Sharath Kamal showcased his enduring talent with a commanding victory over tenth seed Nicholas Lum at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Star Contender Chennai 2025 on Friday.
Sharath's success propelled three other Indian players into the Round of 16, with Manav Thakkar and Snehit Suravajjula advancing in Men's Singles, while Krittwika Roy made her mark in Women's Singles, as reported by WTT.
The WTT Star Contender Chennai 2025, presented by IndianOil, is organized by Stupa Sports Analytics and Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) under the auspices of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI). This prestigious event offers 600 ranking points for winners and features a prize pool of USD 275,000, attracting top players from around the globe.
Facing an opponent 23 years his junior in Men's Singles, Sharath displayed remarkable strategy and skill, utilizing Lum's speed against him. He clinched the first two games with identical scores of 11-8, then surged ahead in the third game, ultimately sealing the match with a stunning down-the-line backhand smash.
The 42-year-old veteran is set to compete against his usual Men's Doubles partner, Snehit, in the Round of 16 on Saturday. Snehit made a remarkable comeback after being two games down against seventh seed Yukiya Uda from Japan.
Earlier, Manav Thakkar kept his medal hopes alive with a solid win over eleventh seed Finn Luu in Men's Singles. The match saw Thakkar and Luu trading games initially, but Thakkar took control in the third game, finishing with a 3-1 victory. In Women's Singles, Indian wildcard Krittwika secured a thrilling 3-2 win against tenth seed Sreeja Akula, advancing to the next round.
In other matches, top seeds in both Men's and Women's Singles, including Tomokazu Harimoto, Hugo Calderano, Hina Hayata, and Miwa Harimoto, successfully moved on to the Round of 16. Harimoto triumphed over Maharu Yoshimura in a tightly contested match, while Calderano came back to defeat Ho Kwan Kit 3-1. Hina Hayata and Miwa Harimoto both achieved straightforward victories.
The Men's Doubles semifinals featured top seeds Tomokazu Harimoto and Sora Matsushima narrowly defeating Wong Chun Ting and Chan Baldwin in a thrilling five-game match, winning 3-2. Meanwhile, Korea's Lim Jong-hoon and An Jae-hyun overcame India's wildcard duo Sharath and Snehit with a 3-1 victory. In Women's Doubles, Miwa Harimoto and Miyuu Kihara eliminated top seeds Satsuki Odo and Sakura Yokoi 3-0, while Korea's Shin Yu-bin and Ryu Hanna advanced with a 3-0 win over Joo Cheonhui and Miyu Nagasaki.
The tournament will proceed with the Main Draw on Saturday across all five categories, culminating in the Finals for Men's and Women's Doubles.
Match Results Overview
Full Results (Main Draw, Day 2)
Men's Singles (Round of 32)
Manav Thakkar (IND) Vs. Finn Luu (AUS) [11] 3-1: 11-4, 7-11, 11-5, 11-8
Achanta Sharath Kamal (IND) Vs. Nicholas Lum (AUS) [10] 3-0: 11-8, 11-8, 11-9
Omar Assar (EGY) [5] Vs. Kwan Man Ho (HKG) [Q] 3-1: 4-11, 11-7, 11-3, 12-10
Andre Bertelsmeier (GER) Vs. An Jae-hyun (KOR) [6] 3-1: 13-11, 11-8, 9-11, 12-10
Flavien Coton (FRA) Vs. Alvaro Robles (ESP) [9] 3-1: 11-1, 11-3, 6-11, 13-11
Tomislav Pucar (CRO) [15] Vs. Yuta Tanaka (JPN) 3-1: 11-8, 12-10, 10-12, 11-8
Sora Matsushima (JPN) [8] Vs. Payas Jain (IND) [Q] 3-1: 11-5, 11-1, 10-12, 11-7
Feng Yi-Hsin (TPE) Vs. Quadri Aruna (NIG) [4] 3-0: 13-11, 11-8, 11-8
Jonathan Groth (DEN) [3] Vs. Harmeet Desai (IND) 3-0: 11-6, 11-7, 12-10
Thibault Poret (FRA) Vs. Hwan Bae (AUS) [14] 3-0: 18-16, 11-7, 11-7
Snehit Suravajjula (IND) [WC] Vs. Yukiya Uda (JPN) [7] 8-11, 11-13, 11-9, 11-7, 12-10
Lim Jong-hoon (KOR) [16] Vs. Manush Shah (IND) [WC] 3-0: 11-9, 11-8, 11-7
Tomokazu Harimoto (JPN) [1] Vs. Maharu Yoshimura (JPN) 3-2: 11-3, 11-3, 8-11, 7-11, 11-9
Liao Cheng-Ting (TPE) Vs. Won Chin Ting (HKG) [13] 3-2: 11-7, 11-7, 9-11, 5-11, 11-8
Oh Junsung (KOR) [12] Vs. Chan Baldwin (HKG) 3-1: 11-9, 11-7, 6-11, 14-12
Hugo Calderano (BRA) [2] Vs. Ho Kwan Kit [Q] 3-1: 9-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-9
Women's Singles (Round of 32)
Miyuu Kihara (IND) [7] Vs. Kavya Bhatt (IND) [Q] 3-0: 11-3, 11-9, 11-5
Lee Eun-hye (KOR) [16] Vs. Debora Vivarelli (ITA) 3-2: 12-10, 5-11, 9-11, 11-4, 11-9
Huang Yu-Jie (TPE) Vs. Manika Batra (IND) [9] 3-1: 11-7, 12-10, 7-11, 11-9
Joo Cheonhui (KOR) [11] Vs. Ayhika Mukherjee (IND) 3-0: 16-14, 11-4, 11-5
Satsuki Odo (JPN) [3] Vs. Zeng Jian (SGP) 3-2: 11-3, 4-11, 11-7, 10-12, 11-9
Kim Na-yeong (KOR) Vs. Doo Hoi Kem (HKG) [15] 3-2: 10-12, 11-7, 11-5, 3-11, 11-6
Shin Yu-bin (KOR) [4] Vs. Divyanshi Bhowmick (IND) [Q] 3-1: 11-13, 11-4, 11-7, 12-10
Adriana Diaz (PUR) [6] Vs. Syndrela Das (IND) [Q] 3-0: 11-7, 11-9, 11-6
Yuan Wan (GER) Vs. Cheng I-Ching (TPE) [5] 3-2: 11-8, 12-14, 6-11, 11-5, 12-10
Huang Yi-Hua (TPE) [12] Vs. Jee Minhyung (AUS) 3-0: 12-10, 11-2, 11-8
Krittwika Roy [WC] Vs. Sreeja Akula (IND) [10] 3-2: 11-6, 11-9, 6-11, 4-11, 11-7
Miwa Harimoto (JPN) [2] Vs. Yeh Yi-Tian (TPE) 3-0: 11-9, 12-10, 11-8
Miyu Nagasaki (JPN) [8] Vs. Zhu Chengzhu (HKG) 3-1: 12-10, 11-3, 9-11, 11-3
Honoka Hashimoto (JPN) [13] Vs. Jieni Shao (POR) 3-0: 11-0, 11-3, 11-6
Sakura Yokoi (JPN) [14] Vs. Diya Chitale (IND) [WC] 3-0: 11-8, 11-9, 11-6
Hina Hayata (JPN) [1] Vs. Li Yu-Jhun (TPE) 3-0: 11-5, 11-9, 11-6
Men's Doubles (Quarterfinals)
Wong Chun Ting (HKG)/Chan Baldwin (HKG) Vs. Yiu Kwan To (HKG)/Ho Kwan Kit (HKG) 3-1: 9-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-5
Achanta Sharath Kamal (IND)/Snehit Suravajjula (IND) [WC] Vs. Manush Shah (IND)/Manav Thakkar (IND) [2] 3-2: 11-9, 9-11, 6-11, 11-8, 14-12
Lim Jong-hoon (KOR)/An Jae-hyun (KOR) [3] Vs. Esteban Dorr (FRA)/Thibault Poret (FRA) 3-0: 11-9, 11-6, 11-2
Tomokazu Harimoto (JPN)/Sora Matsushima (JPN) [1] Vs. Hwan Bae (AUS)/Flavien Coton (FRA) [Q] 3-0: 11-9, 11-8, 11-8
(Semifinals)
Lim Jong-hoon (KOR)/An Jae-hyun (KOR) [3] Vs. Achanta Sharath Kamal (IND)/Snehit Suravajjula (IND) [WC] 3-1: 9-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-6
Tomokazu Harimoto (JPN)/Sora Matsushima (JPN) [1] Vs. Wong Chun Ting (HKG)/Chan Baldwin (HKG) 3-2: 11-7, 11-8, 5-11, 8-11, 11-7
Women's Doubles (Quarterfinals)
Miwa Harimoto (JPN)/Miyuu Kihara (JPN) [3] Vs. Diya Chitale (IND)/Yashaswini Ghorpade (IND) 3-0: 11-2, 11-3, 11-2
Satsuki Odo (JPN)/Sakura Yokoi (JPN) [1] Vs. Sreeja Akula (IND)/Swastika Ghosh (IND) [WC] 3-0: 11-3, 12-10, 11-8
Shin Yu-bin (KOR)/Rya Hanna (KOR) [Q] Vs. Zhu Chengzhu (HKG)/NG Wing Lam (HKG) 3-0: 11-7, 11-7, 11-3
Joo Cheonhui (KOR)/Miyu Nagasaki (JPN) [4] Vs. Barbora Balazova (SVK)/Jee Minhyung (AUS) 3-0: 11-6, 11-9, 11-9
(Semifinals)
Shin Yu-bin (KOR)/Ryu Hanna (KOR) [Q] Vs. Joo Cheonhui (KOR)/Miyu Nagasaki (JPN) 3-0: 11-7, 11-8, 13-11
Miwa Harimoto (JPN)/Miyuu Kihara (JPN) [3] Vs. Satsuki Odo (JPN)/Sakura Yokoi (JPN) [1] 3-0: 11-9, 11-9, 11-8
Mixed Doubles (Quarterfinals)
Wong Chun Ting (HKG)/Doo Hoi Kem (HKG) [1] Vs. Hwan Bae (AUS)/Barbora Balazova (SVK) 3-0: 11-1, 11-7, 12-10
Maharu Yoshimura (JPN)/Satsuki Odo (JPN) [Q] Vs. Sora Matsushima (JPN)/Miwa Harimoto (JPN) 3-2: 2-11, 11-9, 11-4, 10-12, 11-5
Lim Jong-hoon (KOR)/Shin Yu-bin (KOR) [2] Vs. Chan Baldwin (HKG)/Zhu Chengzhu (HKG) [Q] 3-1: 12-10, 5-11, 11-9, 11-8
Manush Shah (IND)/Diya Chitale (IND) [4] Vs. Akash Pal (IND)/Poymantee Baisya (IND) [Q] 3-1: 13-11, 11-13, 12-10, 11-5
(Semifinals)
Lim Jong-hoon (KOR)/Shin Yu-bin (KOR) [2] Vs. Manush Shah (IND)/Diya Chitale (IND) [4] 3-0: 11-7, 11-9, 11-3
Maharu Yoshimura (JPN)/Satsuki Odo (JPN) [Q] Vs Wong Chun Ting (HKG)/Doo Hoi Kem (HKG) [1] 3-2: 11-4, 11-2, 6-11, 5-11, 11-7.