WTT Star Contender Chennai: Top Indian paddlers set to lock horns with world’s best
The men’s & women’s singles main draw will set a 48-player field, while the doubles main draw (men’s, women’s, and mixed) will follow a 16-pair format
DTNEXT Bureau
Sharath Kamal in action
CHENNAI: Sustaining the momentum of the Paris 2024 Olympics, Indian table tennis continues its ascent with 13 entries earning direct qualification for WTT Star Contender Chennai 2025 based on their rank, a record-breaking Indian presence across all three WTT Star Contender events held in India. With a formidable foreign lineup led by Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto (World Rank 4) and Hina Hayata (World Rank 5).
The WTT Star Contender Chennai men’s and women’s singles main draw will set a 48-player field, while the doubles main draw (men’s, women’s, and mixed) will follow a 16-pair format. The tournament will feature a prize pool of USD 275,000 and award 600 points to the champions.
The women’s singles main draw will witness India’s best-ever representation across all editions of the WTT Star Contender, with Manika Batra, Sreeja Akula, Ayhika Mukherjee, and Yashaswini Ghorpade forming a formidable quartet. Meanwhile, four players have qualified directly for the men’s singles main draw in an Indian Star Contender for the first time, led by Sharath Kamal. He is joined by Manav Thakkar, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, and Harmeet Desai, all key members of India’s medal-winning Asiad and Asian Championships teams.
Japan’s Harimoto, recently crowned the WTT Star Contender Doha 2025 champion, will present significant challenges alongside Brazil’s Hugo Calderano (WR 6), a semi-finalist at the Paris Olympics. Alongside a roster of global stars.
Wild cards and qualifiers are expected to further strengthen an already formidable Indian contingent. The singles main draw will feature 25 direct entries based on ITTF rankings, along with four host wildcards, two WTT nominations, one WTT youth nomination, eight top-20 players, and eight qualifiers, ensuring a highly competitive field.
The men’s singles line-up will be led by World No 4 Tomokazu Harimoto from Japan and World No 6 Hugo Calderano, while Sharath Kamal, Manav Thakkar, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, and Harmeet Desai will represent India.