Vatsal Duklan and Hansini Mathan produced significant upsets as they eliminated the boys’ U-17 and girls’ U-17 top seeds, respectively, advancing to the quarterfinals of the WTT Youth Contenders 2026 at the SAMA Indoor Stadium on Friday.
Duklan’s Stunning Victory
Duklan stunned top seed Ritvik Gupta in a thrilling boys’ singles pre-quarterfinal, winning with scores of 4-11, 11-5, 11-7, and 18-16. Meanwhile, Hansini overcame a 1-2 deficit to oust defending champion Divyanshi Bhowmick, finishing with a scoreline of 5-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-7, and 11-4 in the girls’ singles Round of 16.
Other Matches
The second seed in the boys’ U-17 singles, Aditya Das, faced an early exit in the second round, losing to Sohum Mukherjee. Sohum then proceeded to defeat Rushikesh Jagtap with scores of 8-11, 11-5, 11-9, 10-12, and 11-7 in the Round of 16. Local hope Ved Panchal made it to the pre-quarterfinal stage but was eliminated after a loss to Sahil Rawat with scores of 11-3, 11-4, and 11-3.
Tournament Progression
The second edition of the WTT Youth Contender in India commenced with the U-13 and U-17 boys’ and girls’ singles competitions and will feature U-11, U-15, and U-19 competitions later.
Favorites Advance in Girls’ U-17
There were no upsets for other favorites in the girls’ U-17 section. Second seed Miku Matsushima from Japan and Syndrela Das of India advanced easily to the quarterfinals. In the Round of 16, Miku defeated Sukrati Sharma with a score of 11-7, 11-2, and 11-6, while Syndrela triumphed over Indira Sen, winning 11-6, 11-6, 9-11, and 11-6.
Upcoming Matches
Rising paddlers Naisha Rewaskar and Tanishka Kalbhairav also reached the quarterfinals. Naisha eliminated Arohi Roy with scores of 11-5, 11-3, and 11-7, while Tanishka came back from a game down to beat Ankolika Chakraborty 5-11, 11-8, 11-9, and 12-10. They will compete against each other for a spot in the semi-finals.
Defending Champion’s Performance
Defending champion Divyanshi Bhowmick, along with Syndrela Das, Japan’s Miku Matsushima, and the rising star Tanishka Kalbhairav, began their U-17 girls’ singles campaigns with comfortable victories in the group stage.
Divyanshi, who won both the U-15 and U-17 girls’ singles titles last year, started her campaign strongly by defeating compatriot Neeza Kamat 11-4, 11-1, and 11-2 in the Group 1 opener. Syndrela secured victory over Tania Karmakar with scores of 11-6, 11-6, and 11-2 in Group 3.
Miku Matsushima made her way towards the knockout stage by winning against Swara Karmakar with scores of 11-3, 11-4, and 11-2, followed by a victory over Anvi Gupte of 11-6, 11-3, and 11-8 in Group 2.