WTT Contender Doha 2024 Day 1 results: Three Indian doubles pairs secure quarterfinal berths, Manika Batra and Sharath Kamal make it to the last 16

The Doha Contender 2024 at the Lusail Sports Arena in Qatar kicked off on Sunday, January 14, with the qualifying rounds. Several Indian paddlers were seen in action at the USD 80,000 tournament.

After a lackluster performance last week at the Doha Star Contender, with only Manush Shah and Manav Thakkar reaching the quarterfinals, the rest of India’s table tennis stars are looking to rewrite the narrative in this tournament and work towards a better start to their 2024 campaign.

The main draw matches began on January 17 and saw electrifying Round of 32 and pre-quarterfinal performances by the Indian paddlers. Three Indian pairs secured a berth in the doubles quarterfinals, while the experienced Manika Batra and Sharath Kamal reached the pre-quarterfinals in the singles categories.

A closer look at the results of the Indian paddlers at the Doha Contender 2024

In the men's singles category, Snehit Suravajjula lost to Chinese Taipei's Feng Yi-Hsin in the Round of 32 with a scoreline of 5-11, 9-11, 5-11. On the brighter side, a thrilling four-set battle saw Achanta Sharath Kamal use all his experience to secure a hard-fought victory against Filip Zeljko. The final score of the match read 11-8, 13-11, 7-11, 17-15 in favor of the Indian.

In the women's singles event, Manika Batra clinched a commanding 3-0 win over Hong Kong's Lee Ho Ching with a scoreline of 14-12, 11-9, 11-5. However, youngster Yashaswini Ghorpade, who worked her way through the qualifying rounds, faced a tough challenge and bowed out after a defeat to South Korea's Kim Nayeong. The final score of the match was 8-11, 5-11, 9-11.

The men's doubles Round of 16 witnessed a closely contested battle, with Manush Shah and Snehit Suravajjula pairing up against Iran's Noshad Alamiyan and Nima Alamian. Despite their efforts, the Indian duo fell short and went down to the Iranian pair 10-12, 10-12, 11-7, 9-11. The seasoned pair of Achanta Sharath Kamal and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran also faced defeat at the hands of South Korea's Lim Jonghoon and Lee Sang Su with a scoreline of 10-12, 5-11, 9-11.

Unlike the men’s doubles category, the women's doubles event saw two Indian pairs make it to the last eight. Commonwealth medalists Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee advanced to the quarterfinals by defeating Hong Kong's NG Wing Lam and Zhu Chengzhu with a scoreline of 11-6, 11-9, 11-6.

Manika Batra and Archana Kamath also secured their quarterfinal spot by overcoming South Korea's Lee Zion and Yoon Hyobin with a scoreline of 11-13, 11-6, 11-5, 11-9. Despite a tough fight, India’s Yashaswini Ghorpade and Diya Chitale lost to Finland's Christina Kallberg and Filippa Bergand with a scoreline of 11-6, 6-11, 6-11, 6-11 in the pre-quarterfinals.

The mixed doubles pre-quarterfinals also saw some exciting matches. Manika Batra and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran faced Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yun-Ju and Chen Szu-Yu in a nail-biting four-set encounter. They eventually succumbed with a scoreline of 4-11, 11-6, 9-11, 6-11. On the other hand, Diya Chitale and Manush Shah secured a spot in the quarterfinals after defeating France's Charlotte Lutz and Hugo Deschamps with a scoreline of 11-9, 11-5, 11-4.

The Indian paddlers will now be seen in action on Thursday, January 18, for the pre-quarterfinal and quarterfinal matches.