India’s challenge at the WTT Star Contender in Bangkok came to an end on Saturday after both Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Manush Shah lost their respective men’s singles round of 16 matches.
Shah’s promising run was halted by Chinese Taipei’s Chih-Yuan Chuang in a closely contested match.
Manush Shah’s journey at the WTT Star Contender Bangkok ends with a 1-3 defeat against WR 41 Chuang Chih Yuan of 🇹🇼 in the R16.
This again highlights the consistency issues of India paddlers.A good tournament for Manush nevertheless,he will move closer to top 100.#TableTennis pic.twitter.com/x4eDjY6x3S
— Rambo (@monster_zero123) July 6, 2024
The Indian paddler started strong, clinching the opening game 11-8. However, Chuang bounced back convincingly, winning the next three games 7-11, 5-11, 12-14 in a thrilling finale.
The final game was particularly intense, with the score fluctuating between game points and match points before Chuang secured the win.
Manush reached the final by defeating World No. 14 Woojin Jang of Korea 3-1 in the round of 62.
Gnanasekaran, meanwhile, endured a disappointing outing against Yun-Ju Lin of Chinese Taipei. He struggled throughout the match, losing in straight games.
The Indian paddler was unable to find his rhythm, falling 0-3 with a score line of 6-11, 9-11, 9-11.
This WTT Star Contender serves as the final major tournament before the Paris Olympics. The Indian paddlers will now look to analyze their performances in Bangkok and translate the learnings into success on the biggest sporting stage.