U-17 Girls Shine in WTT Youth Contender 2026 Opening Matches
U-17 Girls Campaign Begins Strong
The U-17 girls singles competition at the WTT Youth Contender 2026 commenced with impressive performances from defending champion Divyanshi Bhowmik, Syndrela Das, Japan's Miku Matsushima, and emerging talent Tanishka Kalbhairav at the SAMA Indoor Stadium on Friday.
This year's WTT Youth Contender, which started on Friday, includes events for age groups ranging from U-11 to U-19, with the U-13 and U-17 boys and girls competing on the first day, as per the official announcement. Divyanshi, who clinched both the U-15 and U-17 girls singles titles last year, began her campaign with a decisive victory over compatriot Neeza Kamat, winning 11-4, 11-1, 11-2 in her Group 1 match. Meanwhile, Syndrela triumphed over Tania Karmakar with scores of 11-6, 11-6, 11-2 in Group 3.
Miku Matsushima from Japan made significant progress towards the knockout rounds, achieving wins of 11-3, 11-4, 11-2 against Swara Karmakar, followed by a victory over Anvi Gupte with scores of 11-6, 11-3, 11-8 in Group 2.
Top Seeds Advance in U-17 Boys
In the boys' U-17 category, top seed Ritvik Gupta successfully won both of his matches in Group 1. He defeated Dhruva Malikarjunan with scores of 11-9, 11-5, 11-5, and then overcame Shreyas Mankeshwar with a close match ending 13-11, 11-6, 11-7.
Local player Ved Panchal also secured his place in the knockout stage, winning all three of his matches in Group 21. He first triumphed over Aarav Singhvi with scores of 11-9, 11-7, 11-7, faced a tough challenge from Aarav Rathi, winning 11-9, 11-8, 9-11, 9-11, 11-6, and finally defeated Nitin Veeraraghavan with scores of 12-10, 11-6, 11-7 to top his group.
Aditya Das and Sahil Rawat also topped their respective groups with two victories each from Groups 2 and 3.
U-13 Players in Action
In the U-13 boys category, Shaurya Goyal faced a challenging match but managed to secure a 10-12, 11-9, 13-11, 7-11, 11-6 victory against Suchet Dharennavar in Group 1.
Divija Paul, the top-ranked player in the girls' U-13 category, had a smooth run in Group 1, winning her matches comfortably. She first defeated Inaaya with scores of 11-8, 11-3, 11-5, and then overcame Pehel Gupta with a score of 11-9, 11-7, 11-2.