PANJIM: Indian paddlers Manav Thakkar and Ayhika Mukherjee began their campaign in the WTT Star Contender Goa 2024 – co-hosted by Stupa Sports Analytics and Ultimate Table Tennis under the guidance of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) – with comfortable wins, at the Peddem Indoor Stadium, Mapusa, on Tuesday.
Manav overcame the challenge of Anshuman Agarwal 3-0 (11-7, 11-4, 11-4) in straight games to move into Men’s singles – Qualifying Round 3, where he will face Senegal’s Ibrahima Diaw.
In the women’s singles category, Ayhika Mukherjee defeated Sayali Wani by 3-0 (11-9, 11-2, 12-10) in Qualifying Round 2, while Poymantee Baisya beat Pritha Priya Vartikar 3-0 (12-10, 11-7, 11-7) in Qualifying Round 1.
Meanwhile, Achanta Sharath Kamal and Sanil Shetty faced defeats in the Men’s Singles – Qualifying Round 2 to exit the tournament. Sharath Kamal went down 2-3 (11-6, 12-10, 4-11, 15-17, 3-11) against South Korea’s Kang Dongsoo, whereas Algeria’s Mehdi Bouloussa beat Sanil Shetty 3-2 (14-12, 11-9, 11-13, 7-11, 11-6).
In the mixed doubles category, Manush Shah and Diya Chitale defeated the Indonesian pair of Quek Izaac and Zhou Jingyi 3-0 (11-4, 11-7, 11-6) in straight games, while Sreeja Akula and Snehit Suravajjula beat Pang Koen and Wong Ru of Indonesia 3-1 (11-9, 13-11, 7-11, 11-8) to reach the Qualifying Round 2.
