WTT Youth Contender 2026: Divyanshi Bhowmik and Others Shine in Opening Matches
Exciting Start at WTT Youth Contender 2026
Vadodara (Gujarat) [India], January 2: The WTT Youth Contender 2026 commenced on Friday at the SAMA Indoor Stadium, showcasing a thrilling start for the U-17 girls singles competitors. Defending champion Divyanshi Bhowmik, alongside Syndrela Das, Japan's Miku Matsushima, and promising talent Tanishka Kalbhairav, all secured convincing victories in their group stage matches.
This year's edition of the WTT Youth Contender features a range of competitions for age groups from U-11 to U-19, with the U-13 and U-17 categories for both boys and girls taking center stage on the inaugural day.
Divyanshi, who clinched both the U-15 and U-17 girls singles titles last year, began her campaign with a dominant performance, defeating fellow Indian Neeza Kamat with scores of 11-4, 11-1, and 11-2 in Group 1. Meanwhile, Syndrela triumphed over Tania Karmakar with a scoreline of 11-6, 11-6, and 11-2 in Group 3.
Japan's Matsushima made significant progress towards the knockout rounds, winning her matches against Swara Karmakar (11-3, 11-4, 11-2) and Anvi Gupte (11-6, 11-3, 11-8) in Group 2.
In the boys' U-17 category, top seed Ritvik Gupta emerged victorious in both of his Group 1 matches, defeating Dhruva Malikarjunan (11-9, 11-5, 11-5) and Shreyas Mankeshwar (13-11, 11-6, 11-7).
Local player Ved Panchal also advanced to the knockout stage, winning all three of his matches in Group 21. He first overcame Aarav Singhvi (11-9, 11-7, 11-7), then faced a tough challenge from Aarav Rathi, winning 11-9, 11-8, 9-11, 9-11, 11-6, and finally defeating Nitin Veeraraghavan (12-10, 11-6, 11-7) to top the group.
Aditya Das and Sahil Rawat also topped their respective groups with two victories each in Groups 2 and 3.
In the U-13 boys category, Shaurya Goyal had a challenging match, securing a hard-fought win against Suchet Dharennavar with scores of 10-12, 11-9, 13-11, 7-11, and 11-6 in Group 1.
Divija Paul, the top-ranked player in the U-13 girls category, had a smooth run in Group 1, winning her matches easily. She first defeated Inaaya (11-8, 11-3, 11-5) and then bested Pehel Gupta (11-9, 11-7, 11-2).