Picture Credit: Twitter
After defeating the Japanese team of Miyuu Kihara and Miwa Harimoto on Sunday, India’s Sutirtha Mukherjee and Ayhika Mukherjee won the WTT Contender competition in Tunis. In a difficult final, the Indian team prevailed 3-1 (11-5, 11-6, 5-11, 13-11). The two also made history by becoming this year's first Indian pair to win a contender title.
After defeating Amy Wang and Rachel Sung of the USA in the first round, the Indian team of Sutirtha Mukherjee and Ayhika Mukherjee eliminated Chen Szu-Yu and Huang Yi-Hua of Chinese Taipei, who won bronze at the 2022 World Championships. The Korean combination of Shin Yubin and Jeon Jihi were defeated by the Indian duo on Saturday, 3-2 (7-11, 11-9, 11-9, 7-11, 11-9), advancing them into the final.
Manav Vikash Thakkar and Manush Utpalbhai Shah of India's men's doubles team advanced to the final four before being defeated by the Korean pai of Cho Daeseong and Cho Seungmin.
Harmeet Desai made it all the way to the semifinals of the WTT Contender Lagos last week, and now Ayhika and Sutirtha have won the WTT Contender Tunis.
The following are the results of all the Indian athletes at the WTT Contender in Tunis:
Men’s singles:
Sharath Kamal - Out in first round
Sathiyan Gnanasekaran - Out in the first round
Harmeet Desai - Out in the second round
Sanil Shetty - Out in the qualifiers
Manush Shah - Out in the qualifiers
Women’s singles:
Manika Batra - Out in the first round
Diya Parag Chitale - Out in the first round
Sreeja Akula - Out in the first round
Ayhika Mukherjee - Out in the second round
Reeth Tennison - Out in the qualifiers
Sutirtha Mukherjee - Out in the qualifiers
Men’s doubles:
Harmeet Desai/Sharath Kamal - Out in the first round
Manav Vikash Thakkar/Manush Shah - Out in the semi-finals
Women’s doubles:
Sutirtha Mukherjee/Ayhika Mukherjee - Winners
Diya Parag Chitale/Sreeja Akula - Out in the first round
Mixed doubles:
Sathiyan Gnanasekaran/Manika Batra - Out in the semi-finals
Manush Utpalbhai Shah/Sreeja Akula - Out in the qualifiers
