All posts tagged: Sathiyan Gnanasekaran

Indian men’s & women’s teams exit in round of 32

Indian men’s & women’s teams exit in round of 32

Published by Webster

A disappointing end to India’s campaign at the 2026 ITTF World Table Tennis Team Championships as both teams lost in the round of 32 on Tuesday. The Indian men’s team suffered a 0-3 defeat at the hands of much lower-ranked Austria, and the women’s team bowed 1-3 to the Pan-American silver medalist USA. The Indian men’s team entered the tie as favourites based on individual rankings, but the former world no. 18 and experienced Robert Gardos gave Austria a positive start. The 47-year-old came from behind to beat Manush Shah in a tiring 5-game encounter, 6-11, 11-7, 11-3, 8-11, 13-11, in extra points to win the first match of the tie. India couldn’t recover from this and conceded the next two matches in straight games, as Manav Thakkar and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran couldn’t put up a fight. The Indian women’s team also had a disappointing start as the 18-year-old Sally Moyland got the better of Yashaswini Ghorpade in straight games. Then, the India no.1, Manika Batra, took the tie score to level terms with a 4-game …

Indian men’s & women’s teams advance to second stage

Indian men’s & women’s teams advance to second stage

Published by Webster

Indian men’s and women’s table tennis teams reached the knockout stage of the 2026 ITTF World Team Championships in London, England, on Thursday. India women beat Rwanda, and the men defeated Guatemala in their final group ties, and with three straight wins, both teams topped their groups. They will now move to their respective 32-team knockout stage, starting on May 4th, which will determine the world team champions in both disciplines. #News | Indian men’s and women’s teams reach the knockout stage of ITTF World Team Championships. Both teams bag three wins from the three ties to top their respective groups. Matchday-3 score:India Women bt. 3-0 RwandaIndia Men bt 3-0 Guatemala#TableTennis #ITTFWorld pic.twitter.com/A5BWKAoXnq — The Bridge (@the_bridge_in) April 30, 2026 India used their bench strength in the final tie against a comparatively easier opponent and gave debuts to youngsters like Payas Jain and Syndrela Das. In the men’s tie, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran played the first singles and registered a straight-game victory over a much lower-ranked Segio Carrillo. Then, the India no.1 Manav Thakkar and the Payas …

Manav Thakkar, Manush Shah up for grabs in auction

Manav Thakkar, Manush Shah up for grabs in auction

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Indian stars Manav Thakkar, Manush Shah, and Diya Chitale headline the Butterfly Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 7 player pool, as team retentions see stalwarts Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Manika Batra retained ahead of the auction. The player pool for the upcoming season features a strong mix of established Indian names, emerging talent, and top international paddlers, with franchises set to shape their squads at the auction, scheduled for April 28 at Mumbai’s Sahara Star. Thakkar and Shah return to the auction pool after a year-long hiatus due to international commitments, with the duo currently ranked World No. 5 in men’s doubles and a regular presence on the international circuit. Shah also pairs with Chitale in mixed doubles, with the duo ranked World No. 6 and having created history as the first Indians to qualify for the WTT Finals. Chitale, the most expensive pick in last season’s auction, returns to the pool after Dabang Delhi TTC opted to retain Sathiyan, extending his association with the franchise into a record seventh successive season. Batra, meanwhile, returns to …

Indian men’s & women’s teams advance to second stage

India now a genuine threat to the World’s best: Sathiyan

Published by Webster

Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, has labelled the Indian contingent a “genuine threat” to the world’s best players ahead of the WTT Star Contender Chennai 2026, set to commence from Tuesday at the Tamil Nadu Physical Education and Sports University. Over 80 players from over 15 countries will compete in the main draw across five categories: Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles, and Mixed Doubles. Manav Thakkar and Manush Shah are the top-seeded men’s duo, while Shah and Diya Chitale — India’s history makers at the WTT Contender Muscat 2026 — will start as top seeds in the Mixed Doubles. India will also have three players including Thakkar, Shah, and Gnanasekaran, among the top 16 Men’s Singles players, a clear sign of progress from last year, where none of the Indians were seeded in the singles’ draw. Addressing India’s recent performances, Gnanasekaran said, “I’m extremely happy to see the progress Indian table tennis has made over the last few years. The growth has been exponential across all categories, from juniors to seniors. Many Indian players have …

ITTF-ATTU Asian Cup: Tough draws for depleted Indian squad – Preview

ITTF-ATTU Asian Cup: Tough draws for depleted Indian squad – Preview

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A depleted Indian contingent led by Manika Batra will have their task cut out when they commence their 2026 ITTF-ATTU Asian Cup campaign in Haikou, China on Wednesday. Top Indian paddlers like Manav Thakkar, Manush Shah, and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran in men’s singles and Sreeja Akula, Yashashwini Ghorpade in women’s singles have withdrawn from the continental competition despite having qualified. Instead, Batra will be joined by Swastika Ghosh in women’s singles, whereas Akash Pal, Snehit Suravajjula, and Ankur Bhattacharjee will feature in men’s singles. All five of the Indian paddlers will face a tough challenge with only top two players from each group guaranteed a spot in the knockout stages, which start with the Round of 16. Batra, India’s best bet in the tournament, is placed in Group 1 of women’s singles alongside world No 1 Sun Yingsha of China. She’ll also have to battle with Chinese Taipei’s Ye Yi-Tian and Zaza Hend of Syria in the group stages. Ghosh, meanwhile, is in Group 6 along with Japan’s world No 6 Miwa Harimoto, world No 28 …

Check out India men and women’s complete draws for 2026 ITTF World Team C’ships

Check out India men and women’s complete draws for 2026 ITTF World Team C’ships

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The Indian men’s table tennis team was drawn in Group 7 alongside Slovakia, Tunisia, and Guatemala for the 2026 ITTF World Team Championships on Monday. Meanwhile, the Indian women were drawn in Group 6 along with Ukraine, Uganda, and Rwanda. The Indian teams will start their campaign in Stage 1b and will have to finish on top of their four-team group to advance to the knock out stages, starting from Round of 32. The six best second-placed teams will also move to the knockouts, while the remaining eight second-placed teams will play a knock-out among themselves to advance to the main draw. Slated to begin with Stage 1a with the top teams who directly have a spot in the knockout stages, the 2026 ITTF World Team Championships will mark 100 years since the competition’s first edition in 1926. Men’s Groups Group 1: China, Sweden, Korea Republic, England Group 2: France, Japan, Germany, Chinese Taipei Group 3: Denmark, Madagascar, Mexico, Mongolia Group 4: Brazil, Hungary, Puerto Rico, Uzbekistan Group 5: Slovenia, Czechia, Spain, Bahrain Group 6: …

ITTF Mixed Team World Cup: India crash out winless in group stage

ITTF Mixed Team World Cup: India crash out winless in group stage

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India crashed out of the 2025 ITTF Mixed Team World Cup following a loss to Australia in the third and final group match in Chengdu, China on Tuesday. The Indian team’s 5-8 loss to Australia meant that they failed to register a single tie win in the week-long tournament. The Indian paddlers started on a strong note, with Manav Thakkar and Swastika Ghosh registering a 2-1 (11-6, 2-11, 11-7) win over Hwan Bae and Constantina Psihogios in mixed doubles against Australia. India was quick to give away their advantage as Yashaswini Ghorpade lost her women’s singles tie in the contest. The 20-year-old lost to Yangzi Liu 1-2 (12-10, 3-11, 8-11) as Australia leveled the score at 3-3. With the match evenly poised, the onus was on Olympian Sathiyan Gnanasekaran but he too failed to make an impact, losing to Finn Luu 1-2 (10-12, 9-11, 11-0). Commonwealth Games medalist Manika Batra and Diya Chitale too lost their women’s doubles encounter to Constantina Psihogios-Yangzi Liu 1-2 (11-8, 7-11, 8-11). The men’s doubles pair of Akash Pal and …

ITTF Mixed Team World Cup 2025: Manav, Manika to lead India in now Olympic event – Preview

ITTF Mixed Team World Cup 2025: Manav, Manika to lead India in now Olympic event – Preview

Published by Webster

Ace paddlers Manika Batra, and Manav Thakkar will lead the Indian contingent at the 2025 ITTF Mixed Team World Cup, which is all set to commence in Chengdu, China on Sunday. This is the first edition of the Mixed Team World Cup since the mixed team event was added to the Olympic roster for the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games earlier this year. Joining Batra and Thakkar for the event will be veteran Olympian Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, Akash Pal, the young Payas Jain, Yashashwini Ghorpade, Swastika Ghosh, and Diya Chitale. Format The 2025 ITTF Mixed Team World Cup will be played in three stages with 16 teams from across the globe in contention. In the first stage, the 16 teams will be divided into a four groups of four teams each. Each team will play a group stage round-robin, with the top two teams from the group advancing to the next stage. In the second stage, the qualified teams from Stage 1 will all compete in a single group. All teams will play each other with …

ITTF World C’ships Live: Manika Batra, Manav Thakkar in action

ITTF World C’ships Live: Manika Batra, Manav Thakkar in action

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ITTF World Table Tennis Championships Doha 2025 Live: The second batch of Indian paddlers will compete in the first round of the 2025 Table Tennis World Championships in Doha, Qatar, on Sunday. Five Indian paddlers, including Manika Batra, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, and Manav Thakkar, will be in action at the singles round of 128 matches. In contrast, the men’s doubles duo of Sathiyan and Harmeet Desai will be in action in the round of 64. In mixed doubles, both Indian pairs of Diya / Manush and Yashaswini / Harmeet will begin their campaign in the first round. Catch all the live action here: Disclaimer: We do not own any of the content, ideas, images, or text presented here. All rights belong to their respective owners. For more information and to view the original source, please visit the following link: Source link

ITTF World C’ships: Manika, Sreeja, Manav to lead the Indian challenge

ITTF World C’ships: Manika, Sreeja, Manav to lead the Indian challenge

Published by Webster

The 11-member Indian table tennis contingent is set for the biggest competition of the year — the ITTF World Championships — to be held at the Lusail Sports Arena in Doha, Qatar, from 17th to 25th May. The Indian team, featuring star players like Manika Batra, Sreeja Akula, and Manav Thakkar, will have four players each in the singles categories and two pairs in each of the three doubles categories. Indian paddlers have had a rather disappointing year so far in singles, with top players like Manika Batra and Sreeja Akula suffering early exits and experiencing significant drops in their rankings. They will be aiming to end this poor run, regain their rhythm, and target a quarterfinal finish. Manav Thakkar will be the one to watch in the men’s singles category. Meanwhile, Indian doubles pairs — such as Manav and Manush in men’s doubles, and Ayhika and Sutirtha in women’s doubles — have shown promising performances over the past two years. They will now look to convert that progress into medals. India has never won …