Table tennis WTT Youth Contender: Anargya Manjunath wins U-17 title

Indian table tennis' next-gen are on a roll. After the young paddlers made waves at the WTT Youth Contender table tennis tournament in Tunis, India's Anargya Manjunath emerged victorious in the WTT Youth Contender Table Tennis tournament in Belgrade. The WTT Youth Table Tennis title is Anargya Manjunath's first major international title this season.

The young paddler defeated Hungary’s Dorottya Tolygyes 3-2 (11-6, 7-11, 11-4, 8-11, 11-6) to lift the U-17 girls singles trophy. Incidentally, this was Anargya Manjunath's first crown after more than two years of title drought.

Anargya Manjunath, from Bengaluru, looked impressive from the start of the tournament. After a relatively easy passage through the group stages, Anargya's easy run continued in the quarter and semifinals as well.

In the semifinals, the paddler coasted to a 3-0 (11-4, 11-7, 12-10) win over Sweden's Nomin Baasan.

WTT Table Tennis tournament final was a tough one

However, the final was a crunch affair. The Indian table tennis player was tested to the hilt but Anargya came out with flying colors. Even though Anargya's Hungarian opponent kept coming back into the game every time she took the lead, the girl from Bangalore prevailed in the end.

The Indian teenager demonstrated her prowess and determination in the decider, sewing it up in style. Anargya admitted that she felt lucky to have won the crown. She said:

“It was my first international outing in a long time, around two and a half years. I played the decider with full confidence, and a few of her unforced errors also played a part."

Higher category success eludes Anargaya

Although the Bengaluru girl owned the U-17 category, she could not replicate the success in the U-19 category. She was ousted in the pre-quarterfinals, losing to Matilda Hansson of Sweden 2-3 (11-9, 7-11, 11-9, 12-14, 7-11).

Another young Indian table tennis player, Karuna Gajendran, also bowed out in the last-16 stages after losing 2-3 (11-9, 6-11, 11-9, 6-11, 9-11) to Sweden's Rebecca Muskantor.

India's Swastika Ghosh made the outing a memorable one for herself, winning a bronze medal. The Mumbai-based table tennis player reached the semi-final stage before losing the match to Rebecca Muskantor in straight games.