Vadodara to Host Major Table Tennis Events: WTT Youth Contender and Feeder Series 2026

Vadodara Welcomes International Table Tennis Events

Vadodara, Gujarat, is set to enhance its status as a key location for table tennis as it prepares to host the WTT Youth Contender 2026 and the WTT Feeder Series 2026 from January 2 to January 11, as announced in a recent statement.

The WTT Youth Contender, featuring categories for players aged U11 to U19, will occur from January 2 to 5 at the Sama Indoor Sports Complex, followed by the WTT Feeder Series from January 7 to 11.

A press conference held on January 1 highlighted that the Youth Contender will see participation from 226 athletes across four nations, while the Feeder Series will include 108 competitors from ten different countries.

Jayaben Thakkar, President of the Table Tennis Association of Vadodara, expressed pride in hosting these events, noting, “It’s a privilege to have the WTT Youth Contender return to Vadodara for a second time, and the WTT Feeder Series is making its debut in India.”

The tournament will commence with U-13 and U-17 singles matches on January 2, followed by competitions for U-11, U-15, and U-19 categories on January 4 and 5.

Hemang Joshi, Member of Parliament and Vice President of the Table Tennis Association of Baroda, reflected on the growth of infrastructure for table tennis in the region, stating, “Previously, there were concerns about the lack of facilities, but now Vadodara has become a hub for table tennis in India, hosting various national ranking events.”

Last year, Indian players excelled at the WTT Youth Contenders, with Ankur Bhattacharjee and Syndrela Das clinching the U-19 boys’ and girls’ singles titles, respectively, while Divyanshi Bhowmick triumphed in both U-15 and U-17 girls’ singles.

This year, Divyanshi will compete in the U-17 and U-19 categories, while Syndrela aims to defend her title in the U-19 girls’ singles.

Kamlesh Mehta, Secretary General of the Table Tennis Federation of India, praised the efforts of TTAB, emphasizing the importance of hosting such events in India to help players qualify for major international competitions like the Olympics and Commonwealth Games without incurring high travel costs.

In the WTT Feeder Series, Syndrela and Divyanshi will compete alongside notable players such as World No. 75 Park Gahyeon and World No. 78 Yoo Yrein from Korea. The Indian women's singles challenge will also feature experienced players like Sutirtha Mukherjee and Ayhika Mukherjee, along with World No. 85 Yashaswini Ghorpade, who has received a wild card entry.

In men's singles, Manush Shah, who made history with Diya Chitale as the first Indian mixed doubles pair to qualify for the prestigious WTT Finals, will lead the Indian contingent alongside seasoned players Harmeet Desai, Snehit S, and Ankur Bhattacharjee.

Wild Card Entries for WTT Feeder Series include:

Men's Singles (Main Draw): Pratham Madlani (India), Sanil Shetty (India), Ali Alkhadrawi (Saudi Arabia), Abdulaziz Bu Shulaybi (Saudi Arabia), Abdulrahman Al Taher (Saudi Arabia)

Women's Singles (Main Draw): Yang Ha Eun (Korea Republic), Yashaswini Ghorpade (India), Debolina Das (India), Maria Rony (India); (Qualifying): Tanishka Kalbhairav (India)

Women's Doubles (Main Draw): Tanishka Kalbhairav/Maria Rony, Neha Kumari/Mukta Dalvi

Men's Doubles (Main Draw): Ronit Bhanja/Oishik Ghosh (India), Divyansh Srivastava/Sarth Mishra (India)

Mixed Doubles (Main Draw): Akash Gupta/Garima Goyal (India), Ronit Bhanja/Sutirtha Mukherjee (India).