WTT Star Contender Chennai: Manav Thakkar’s historic run ends with SF loss to Poret

Chennai, March 30 (IANS) Manav Thakkar’s historic run at the WTT Star Contender Chennai 2025 ended with a hard-fought 3-1 Semifinal loss to World No. 54 Thibault Poret on Sunday.

Having become the first Indian male player to reach a WTT Star Contender semifinal just a day earlier, Manav delivered a spirited performance at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, pushing the 20-year-old Frenchman in a thrilling, high-intensity contest.

Despite narrowly missing out in the first two games, the 24-year-old from Rajkot rallied brilliantly to claim the third, igniting the home crowd. Poret’s exceptional defensive display throughout ultimately proved decisive, setting up a title clash against South Korea’s Oh Jun-sung.

Beyond earning his place in history, Manav raked in 210 significant WTT ranking points and a purse of USD 4,000 (Rs 3.42 Lakhs) with his sensational semifinal run.

Earlier, Manav had claimed victory in successive five-game thrillers over Germany’s Andre Bertelsmeier and South Korea’s Lim Jong-hoon, an Olympic medallist, to reach the semifinals.

The tournament also marked the end of Achanta Sharath Kamal’s two-decade-long legendary career with a Round of 16 loss to Snehit Suravajjula in Men’s Singles at the WTT Star Contender Chennai 2025.

Facing his men’s doubles partner and one of Indian table tennis’ brightest emerging talents, Sharath battled valiantly but was edged out 3-0 by the younger player, who displayed remarkable composure and precision to claim all three games by close margins.

Poret, on the other hand, ended Snehit’s sensational run with a 3-1 victory in the quarter-finals on Sunday.

In the women’s final, Japan’s Honoka Hashimoto is taking on national team compatriot Miwa Harimoto whilst the men’s final will take place following the conclusion of the women’s clash.

–IANS

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