Vatsal Duklan and Hansini Mathan created major surprises at the WTT Youth Contenders 2026 in Vadodara. Duklan defeated top seed Ritvik Gupta in a thrilling match, while Mathan overcame defending champion Divyanshi Bhowmick to advance to the quarterfinals.
In another upset, Aditya Das, the second seed in boys’ U-17 singles, was eliminated by Sohum Mukherjee, who then secured a victory over Rushikesh Jagtap in the Round of 16. Local hopeful Ved Panchal exited in the pre-quarterfinals after losing to Sahil Rawat.
The WTT Youth Contender in India commenced with U-13 and U-17 boys and girls singles competitions, followed by U-11, U-15, and U-19 events. Favorites Miku Matsushima and Syndrela Das advanced smoothly in the girls’ U-17 category, securing spots in the quarterfinals.
Upcoming paddlers Naisha Rewaskar and Tanishka Kalbhairav also progressed to the last eight stage. Naisha defeated Arohi Roy, while Tanishka staged a comeback win against Ankolika Chakraborty. They are set to face off for a place in the semi-finals.
Defending champion Divyanshi Bhowmik, Syndrela Das, Miku Matsushima, and Tanishka Kalbhairav started their U-17 girls’ singles campaign with convincing wins in the group stage.
