The Korean played five matches across categories, but it was the fixture against Divyanshi which made her sweat. In fact, the Indian had the chance to take the contest to a decider, but she could not convert the sole game point she earned in the fourth.Top seed and World No. 3 Tomokazu Harimoto from Japan […]
The Korean played five matches across categories, but it was the fixture against Divyanshi which made her sweat. In fact, the Indian had the chance to take the contest to a decider, but she could not convert the sole game point she earned in the fourth.Top seed and World No. 3 Tomokazu Harimoto from Japan survived a scare to beat compatriot Maharu Yoshimuru 3-2 (11-3, 11-3, 8-11, 7-11, 11-9). Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna, Korea’s An Jaehyun, Spain’s Alvaro Robles, Australia’s Hwan Bae, and Hong Kong’s Wong Chun Ting – all seeded players – were shown the exit door.
The reward for Snehit, who has reached the round of 16 of an event at this level, is a match against the 42-year-old Sharath, who is playing his farewell tournament.
Manika Batra lost to Chinese Taipei’s Huang Yu-Jie.
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Ravindran.R/The Hindu
A similar script was unfolding on the show court at the Nehru Indoor Stadium as the seventh seed from Japan took the first game 11-8. The Indian was trying to keep up with the pace and intensity of Uda’s shots but was not finding the breakthrough.“Uda has an amazing forehand, but he was turning a lot and playing these big shots. I was scared to play in his forehand corner, but Max (Costantini) told me to trust my gut, and he believed that I would make the returns. When I started doing that, he started playing some weak shots, and then, I targeted his backhand,” revealed Snehit.World No. 170 Krittwika is playing only her eighth tournament since 2022. “I came prepared since I had played with him last year. Even then, it took me some time to adapt to his speed and service,” said the 24-year-old Snehit.
Snehit bagged the next two games 11-9 and 11-7. The 200-odd spectators also played a role as the cheers grew louder and louder with Snehit’s comeback.
Snehit took the next two points, forcing Uda to take a timeout at 8-6. The 23-year-old Japanese regrouped to earn three match points. This is where, perhaps, Snehit’s win in men’s doubles quarterfinals with Achanta Sharath Kamal from earlier in the day played a role, as the duo had saved two match points.Manav Thakkar was the only other Indian man who made it to the next round as he won 3-1 (11-4, 7-11, 11-5, 11-8) against 11th-seeded Australian Finn Luu, as Harmeet Desai, Payas Jain and Manush Shah were knocked out.Krittwika takes on eighth-seeded Japanese Miyu Nagasaki in the round of 16.
It was upsets galore at the WTT Star Contender event in Chennai on Friday, with Snehit Suravajjula and Krittwika Sinha Roy entering the round of 16 to emerge as the unexpected headliners.Facing the big-hitting Japanese World No. 29 Yukiya Uda in the round of 32 wasn’t an easy task for local wildcard Snehit. In their previous and only meeting, the Indian had gone down 0-3 in Doha last year. But he could also take heart from the fact that that contest involved three close games – 8-11, 13-15, 8-11.However, Snehit didn’t start the decider in the ideal manner and found himself 4-8 down. Divyanshi Bhowmick, a 14-year-old qualifier who upset World No. 64 Giorgia Piccolin of Italy on her senior debut on Thursday, went down fighting 1-3 (13-11, 4-11, 7-11, 10-12) against World No. 10 Shin Yubin.
Women’s singles
ALSO READ | WTT Star Contender Chennai: Sharath Kamal beats Nicholas Lum to reach Round of 16World No. 27 Manika Batra was stunned 1-3 (7-11, 10-12, 11-7, 9-11) by Chinese Taipei’s Huang Yu-Jie, a player ranked outside the Top 200.
Snehit managed to pull a Houdini again and clinch the decider 12-10 as Uda made multiple unforced errors with his trusted forehand sending the ball way past the table.
“In 2023, the left side of my body was almost paralysed. I had an infection in my blood and bladder. I’m still on medication,” said the 31-year-old when asked about her absence from the professional circuit.World No. 123 Snehit revealed that some tactical advice and encouragement from coach Massimo Costantini helped him turn things around.
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Ravindran.R/The Hindu
“I started expecting from myself that I could win this. Once I was down, I started taking it point by point and stopped thinking about the whole scenario,” he said.
In women’s singles, wildcard Krittwika was the only Indian who progressed to the round of 16. She did so at the expense of compatriot and World No. 33 Sreeja Akula with a 3-2 (11-6, 11-9, 6-11, 4-11, 11-9) win.
He had a 7-3 lead and two game points in the second game but failed to close it out.
