India’s Manav Thakkar secured a hard-fought victory over France’s Flavien Coton with a 3-2 win in the first round of the World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash. Thakkar claimed the match 12-10, 10-12, 11-7, 7-11, 11-7, while Sathiyan Gnanasekaran was unable to advance past the first round, losing to Yuta Tanaka of Japan 3-0 (5-11, 7-11, 10-12).
Yashaswini Ghorpade is set to face Yuling Zhu of Macao (China) in her upcoming match, and Manika Batra will compete against Japanese wildcard Sakura Yokoi in the Round of 64. Sreeja Akula, a top Indian singles player, will challenge 16th-seeded Cheon-hui Joo of South Korea in the same round.
In the men’s singles event, Manav Thakkar will meet World No. 1 Wang Chuqin, while the mixed doubles pair of Manush Shah and Diya Chitale, seeded fifth, will start against American wildcards Jishan Liang and Sally Moyland.
Wang Chuqin led the charge into the next round with a convincing win over teammate Zhou Qihao, securing a place in the men’s singles last 32. Wang emphasized the importance of mentality in his victory, highlighting the competitive nature of matches against teammates.
China’s Lin Shidong and Chen Yuanyu also advanced to the men’s singles last 32, with Lin defeating South Korea’s Park Gang-hyeon and Chen overcoming host wild card Nandan Naresh. Lin attributed his success to a focused mindset and strategic adjustments during the match.
