Chennai erupted with excitement on Saturday as Indian table tennis stars Harmeet Desai and Yashaswini Ghorpade secured their spot in the mixed doubles final at the WTT Star Contender Chennai 2026. The fourth-seeded duo dominated their all-Indian semifinal clash against wildcard entrants Payas Jain and Sindhuja Das, clinching a convincing 3-0 victory with scores of 11-9, 11-6, 11-9 at the Tamil Nadu Physical Education and Sports University.
Their commanding performance sets up a blockbuster final showdown against Romania’s second seeds Eduard Ionescu and Bernadette Szocs, promising a high-stakes international battle. Meanwhile, G. Sathiyan kept India’s men’s singles hopes alive by battling back from a 1-2 deficit to defeat Ionescu 3-2 (9-11, 11-3, 10-12, 11-7, 11-5). The 10th seed now faces Czech Republic’s Lubomir Jancharik in the quarterfinals, who earlier ousted India’s Manush Shah 3-1.
Sathiyan’s journey to the quarters included a gritty 3-1 win over Korea Republic’s Lim Jong-hoon (11-7, 9-11, 11-9, 13-11). Manush Shah also advanced by beating another Korean, Park Gyu-hyun, 3-0 (11-6, 11-7, 11-9), but Snehit Suravajjula’s run ended against top seed Oh Jun-seung of Korea, who won 3-1 despite an injury concern.
In women’s singles, qualifier Nithya Mani staged a stunning upset on Friday, rallying from 0-2 down to beat Japan’s 13th seed Mizuki Oikawa 3-2 (9-11, 15-17, 11-4, 11-6, 18-16) in a thrilling 52-minute encounter. However, her dream run halted in the pre-quarterfinals with a 3-1 loss to Chinese Taipei’s fourth seed Cheng I-ching (9-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-8). Oh Jun-seung, nursing an injury from the mixed doubles semifinal, handed a walkover to France’s Thibault Poret in the men’s quarterfinals.
As the tournament progresses, Indian fans are pinning hopes on Desai-Ghorpade’s final charge and Sathiyan’s quarterfinal prowess, signaling a bright future for the sport in the country.