Ayhika-Ankur duo battles into main draw at WTT Star Contender Chennai 2025

Chennai: Pairing up for mixed doubles, Asian Games medallist Ayhika Mukherjee and reigning three-time National Youth Champion Ankur Bhattacharjee sealed their place in the main draw of the WTT Star Contender Chennai 2025, overcoming Anirban Ghosh and Swastika Ghosh in a thrilling five-game battle on Day 2 of Qualifying on Wednesday.

Twice rallying from a game down, Ayhika and Ankur fought back with the former’s sharp defense and the latter’s blistering forehand winners, sealing victory in a tense decider. Ankur later teamed up with Payas Jain in men’s doubles qualifying, stunning top seeds John Oyebode and Carlo Rossi of Italy 3-1 in the day’s biggest upset.

WTT Star Contender Chennai 2025 is organized by Stupa Sports Analytics and Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) under the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI). The event boasts 600 ranking points for winners and a USD 275,000 prize purse, with top global paddlers in action.

Elsewhere, South Korea’s Shin Yubin, a two-time Olympic medallist, and Ryu Hanna stormed into the main draw after a dominant victory in their women’s doubles clash against India’s Diya Brahmachary and Anjali Rohilla, while the Chinese Taipei duo of Huang Yi-Hua and Huang Yi-Jie proved too strong for Nashik pair Taneesha Kotecha and Sayali Wani, securing a straight-games win. IANS

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