All posts tagged: manush shah table tennis

Manush Shah’s decisive singles clinches U Mumba’s spot in UTT final

Manush Shah’s decisive singles clinches U Mumba’s spot in UTT final

Published by Webster

4 min readJul 25, 2026 11:10 PM IST Manush Shah has been flying the Indian flag high in doubles, rising to an unprecedented world number 2 along with Manav Thakkar recently. On Saturday, though, he came up clutch with his singles game to eke out the tie-winning points for U Mumba against a spirited Ankur Bhattacharjee and HVR Kolkata Thunder Blades. Manush, who had set it up by winning his mixed doubles rubber prior to that, hence powered the Mumbai-based franchise into the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) season 7 final. They will defend their title against the unbeaten Dempo Goa Challengers on Sunday. Ankur, dubbed the ‘Conor McGregor of Indian TT’ by commentator Adam Bobrow for his combative style, was not an easy opponent by any means. The 19-year-old had not tasted defeat in the 2025 edition and was one of just four players retained across the six teams, this time around. But Manush, ranked 40th in singles, employed his pedigree and years on the circuit to dismantle Ankur 11-7, 11-5. “Ankur is a strong …

French Lebrun brothers defeat India’s Manav Thakkar-Manush Shah 3-2 in Battle of All-Bespectacled at Singapore Smash | Sport-others News

French Lebrun brothers defeat India’s Manav Thakkar-Manush Shah 3-2 in Battle of All-Bespectacled at Singapore Smash | Sport-others News

Published by Webster

2 min readFeb 27, 2026 01:59 PM IST India’s first Singapore Smash semifinalists Manav Thakkar and Manush Shah had to contend with a Last 4 exit as they went down 6-11, 11-7, 10-12, 11-9, 8-11 to French paddler pair Felix and Alexis Lebrun. It was a Battle of the All-Bespectacled at the Infinity Arena at The Kallang, as the venue is called. The Indians were the first ever to make semis of a Smash from the country. After the two combines went 2 games apiece, Thakkar-Shah had done well to go on a 4 point spree to lead 5-3, but the French took off thereafter, attacking Manav and Manush’s serve with careful acceleration. The Lebruns, starting from their singles losses, took off at 8-7, and raced into the final. Earlier, the Indian left-right combo had done well to push a decider, playing a confident fourth game, and holding off the French, moving up from the crucial 7-7 deadlock. The third game too was very tight, and perhaps more winnable as the Indians kept snapping at …

Manav Thakkar-Manush Shah become first Indians to reach doubles semis at Singapore Smash | Sport-others News

Manav Thakkar-Manush Shah become first Indians to reach doubles semis at Singapore Smash | Sport-others News

Published by Webster

2 min readFeb 26, 2026 10:20 AM IST India’s top TT stars Manav Thakkar and Manush Shah may not have made great headway in singles at the Singapore Smash, but they combined to enter the semifinals of the year’s second Major, with a 3-0 win over Germans Martin Allegro and Adrien Rassenfose. The Smash series is table tennis’ top tier on the circuit, and the Indians did well to defeat the Germans 11-8, 11-9, 11-9 to reach the semifinals. Thakkar and Shah are the first Indian pair to have reached the semifinals of a WTT Grand Smash since its inception. An early stutter in the second game saw the Double Ms, seeded 6th at Singapore, fall back 2-5, but they quickly went on a counter, attacking the German serves with swift returns for 5 consecutive points, to win it 11-9. In Game 3, Indians took a 4-0 lead and ran with it. This is a crucial year for India’s peddlers, bound for the Asian Games, where at the last edition, India notched a bronze through …