WTT Star Contender Goa 2024 Day 1 results: Sharath Kamal, Gnanasekaran crash out, Akula, Manav, Manush among Indians who advance

The main draw of the WTT Star Contender Goa 2024 kicked off at Peddem Indoor Stadium, Goa, on Thursday, January 25. The USD 250,000 tournament saw a lot of participation from the Indian paddlers; however, it was a rather disappointing day for the majority of them.

India’s ace paddlers, Manika Batra, Sharath Kamal, and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, experienced setbacks, bowing out in at least one category each.

However, it was not all bad news for the Indian fans, as India’s younger generation of paddlers secured victories. Manush Shah, Sreeja Akula, and Manav Thakkar were among the Indians who made it through to the next round.

A closer look at the day 1 results of the WTT Star Contender Goa 2024

The men's singles category saw Anirban Ghosh succumb to South Korea's Kang Dongsoo 8-11, 9-11, 8-11, Jeet Chandra falling to Spain's Alvaro Robles 5-11, 8-11, 4-11, and Harmeet Desai and Manush Shah losing closely contested five-set thrillers.

Harmeet went down to Andrej Gacina with a final score of 11-13, 11-9, 9-11, 11-8, 6-11, while Manush lost to South Korea’s Cho Seungmin 11-6, 1-11, 11-3, 3-11, 9-11. Snehit Suravajjula, however, provided some relief with a win against fellow Indian Payas Jain, winning the game with a scoreline of 11-4, 11-7, 8-11, 11-8.

In the women's singles category, Archana Kamath emerged victorious against Spain's Maria Xiao 11-7, 13-11, 12-10; Yashaswini Ghorpode beat Tatiana Kukulkova 11-8, 11-4, 11-2 and Sreeja Akula, who is fresh off a title victory in the USA, also secured a win against France's Camille Lutz with a score of 11-5, 9-11, 11-7, 11-8.

Unfortunately, Anjali Rohilla, Suhana Saini, and Nithya Mani faced defeats, losing to South Korea’s Lee Eunhye, Chinese Taipei’s Cheng Hsien-Tzu, and Thailand’s Orawan Paranang, respectively.

The men's doubles witnessed mixed results. Snehit Suravajjula and Harmeet Desai went down to South Korea’s Lim Jonghoon and An Jaehyun 4-11, 9-11, 6-11, while Jeet Chandra and Payas Jain lost to France’s Simon Gauzy and Alexis Leburn 5-11, 11-9, 5-11, 11-13.

Veterans Achanta Sharath Kamal and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran also faced disappointment after they lost to South Korea's Kang Dongsoo and Park Ganghyeon in straight games, 3-11, 9-11, 8-11.

Meanwhile, on a positive note, Manav Thakkar and Manush Shah continued their incredible form, reaching yet another quarterfinal with a victory against Singapore's Pang Yew En Koen and Quek Izaac in straight sets. The score of the match was 11-7, 11-9, 11-5.

In the women’s doubles category, Taneesha Kotecha and Sayali Wani got the better of Finland’s Christina Kallberg and Filippa Bergand 11-9, 4-11, 11-8, 11-7. Youngsters Diya Chitale and Sreeja Akula also won their matches to enter the last eight. They beat fellow Indians Yashaswini Ghorpade and Suhana Saini in a nail-biting five-set match, 11-8, 10-12, 11-13, 11-3, 11-7.

However, Asian Games medalists Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee ended their campaign in their home tournament after losing to Andrea Todorovic and Sibel Altinkaya 9-11, 12-14, 12-10, 12-10, 2-11 in their first-round match.

The mixed doubles category witnessed contrasting results. Experienced paddlers Manika Batra and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran went down to South Korea’s Park Ganghyeon and Kim Nayeong 11-9, 7-11, 5-11, 11-7, 9-11, but Diya Chitale and Manush Shah beat Christina Kallberg and Truls Moregard 9-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-6.

Manav Thakkar and Archana Kamath also secured a victory, getting the better of France’s Prithika Pavade and Felix Leburn 8-11, 0-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-9 to enter the last eight.

As the competition progresses, the Indian paddlers will be seen in action for their respective pre-quarterfinal and quarterfinal matches of the WTT Star Contender Goa 2024 on Friday, January 26.