Sharath, Sathiyan star attractions in WTT qualifiers

Achanta Sharath Kamal and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, alongside 35 other paddlers from the country, are set to compete in the singles qualifiers as the upcoming WTT Star Contender gears up to achieve the highest-ever Indian participation.

Achanta Sharath Kamal and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, alongside 35 other paddlers from the country, are set to compete in the singles qualifiers as the upcoming WTT Star Contender gears up to achieve the highest-ever Indian participation. The second edition of the tournament will be played at the Peddem Indoor Stadium here from January 23 to 28.

Nine Indians, including the highest world-ranked Indian paddler Manika Batra and Harmeet Desai, secured direct entry into the main draw. The inclusion of 32 new names in the qualifying list brings India's total participation to 41 across categories. This surpasses the previous highest of 40 participants in the inaugural edition of the tournament.

Besides experienced campaigners like Sharath, Sathiyan, Ayhika Mukherjee, Sutirtha Mukherjee and Sanil Shetty, the qualifiers will also provide glimpses of India's bright future through some promising youngsters such as the current national champion Poymantee Baisya, Payas Jain, S Fidel R Snehit, Mudit Dani, Jeet Chandra, Diya Chitale, Yashaswini Ghorpade, Archana Kamath, Swastika Ghosh and Suhana Saini among many others.

The 2023 World Championships doubles bronze medallist Cho Dae-seong, 17-year-old Oh Junsung from Korea and Hungarian paddler Bence Majoros are among the international stars to be seen in action in the qualifying rounds which will offer eight singles and four doubles main draw spots.

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