WTT Star Contender Brazil: Unique First For India As Manav-Manush And Manush-Diya Reach Their Respective Finals
For the first time, two Indian doubles pairs have reached the final of the WTT Star Contender event in Brazil.
Published : August 2, 2025 at 3:57 PM IST
Hyderabad: India has scripted table tennis history in the ongoing WTT Star Contender Foz do Iguaçu 2025 in Brazil. The two Indian doubles pairs - Manush Shah-Diya Chitale and Manav Thakkar-Manush Shah entered the final of the tournament to create a historic moment in the table tennis world. This marks the first occasion where Indian players have cruised into the finals of both mixed doubles and men’s doubles at the event.
Manush Shah and Diya Chital enter the final
In the mixed doubles event, world no. 10 Manush Shah and Diya Chitale displayed flawless coordination. They ousted Chile’s fourth-seeded pair Nicolás Burgos and Paulina Vega by 11–7, 11–2, 11–7 in the semifinals.
Earlier, they overcame the opening round thanks to a bye and went on to beat Chile’s Gustavo Gomez and Daniela Ortega in the Round of 16. In the final, they will be up against Japan’s qualifier duo, Satoshi Aida and Honoka Hashimoto.
Manav Thakkar and Manush Shah also make it to the final
In the men’s doubles, the top-seeded Indian duo of Manav Thakkar and Manush Shah (World No. 10) orchestrated a dominant run to the final. They began their campaign with a 3-1 victory over Japan’s qualifiers, Satoshi Aida and Mizuki Oikaw, in the pre-quarterfinals and then secured a win against Florian Bourrassaud and Lilian Bardet in the quarterfinals.
The next victory came against Huang Yan-Cheng and Kuo Guan-Hong of Chinese Taipei in a five-game battle (5-11, 11-9, 11-6, 8-11, 11-5). They will now square off against the second-seeded German duo, Benedikt Duda and Dang Qiu, in the title decider.
New milestone unlocked!
— Rambo (@monster_zero123) August 1, 2025
Manush Shah/Diya Chitale became the first Indian paddlers across all disciplines, to reach the finals of a WTT Star Contender event🔥
They beat Burgos/Paulina 3-0 to enter XD finals of WTT Star Contender Brazil.#TableTennis pic.twitter.com/AieSMaeJr6
Manika Batra and Swastika Ghosh reached the quarterfinals in the women’s doubles but endured a defeat to South Korea’s Joo Cheonhui and Lee Eunhye. No women’s doubles pair made it to the semifinals, but the performance highlights the steady progress in the category.
India’s singles campaign is underway in the tournament featuring star players like Manika Batra, Yashaswini Ghorpade, Swastika Ghosh, Ayhika Mukherjee, Diya Chitale, Manav Thakkar, Harmeet Desai, and Manush Shah.
