DyCM Udhayanidhi unveils trophy as top paddlers lock horns in Chennai

CHENNAI: Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin unveiled the WTT Star Contender Chennai Trophy on Tuesday, marking the official launch of the tournament.

The ceremony set the stage for an action-packed week as top paddlers from across India and the world prepare to compete for the title at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium.

Indian table tennis legend Sharath Kamal, who is playing in his final tournament, was present alongside Atulya Misra IAS (Additional Chief Secretary, Youth Welfare and Sports Development), J Meghanatha Reddy IAS (Member Secretary, Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu), Deepak Malik (Co-founder & COO, Stupa Sports Analytics), and Ekansh Gupta (CEO, Ultimate Table Tennis).

With 158 players from around the world, including eight Olympic medallists and some of the sport’s biggest stars, Chennai is set to witness world-class table tennis action from 25 to 31 March.

Qualifiers Results:

Men’s Singles:

Abhinay Vijay (IND) Lost to Rudra Ghosh (IND) [WC] 1-3: 8-11, 2-11, 13-11, 5-11

Karthikeyan Solaiyan (IND) Lost to Deepash Bhagwani (INA) 2-3: 11-5, 11-13, 13-11, 8-11, 9-11

Mehan Senthil (IND) Lost to Arnav Karnaveer (IND) 2-3: 3-11, 11-8, 11-13, 11-2, 16-18

Preyesh Suraj (IND) Bt Mohammed Ali (IND) 3-1: 11-7, 11-7, 10-12, 12-10

Sriram Sivam (IND) Lost to Priyanuj Bhattacharya (IND) 0-3: 6-11, 5-11, 5-11

Women’s Singles:

Amrutha Pushpak (IND) Bt Ananya Muralidharan (IND) 3-1: 5-11, 11-5, 11-9, 11-8

Jiyah Lakshman (IND) Lost to Maria Rony (IND) 1-3: 6-11, 12-10, 1-11, 8-11

Thanuja Nagarajan (IND) Lost to Srijanee Dey (IND) 0-3: 8-11, 10-12, 6-11