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Eighteen-year-old Oh Jun-sung defeated French youngster Thibault Poret in a seven-game Men's Singles thriller to win his maiden World Table Tennis (WTT) Star Contender title at WTT Star Contender Chennai 2025 on Sunday. In Women's Singles, 16-year-old Miwa Harimoto, an Olympic medallist in Paris 2024, defeated her compatriot Honoka Hashimoto 4-2 to win her first crown at this level.
Earlier in the day, Manav Thakkar's historic run came to an end in the penultimate round, leaving him as the sole Indian male player to have reached a WTT Star Contender Semifinal. South Korea's Lim Jong-hoon and Shin Yu-bin, meanwhile, won the Mixed Doubles title with a straight-games victory, as per a press release from WTT. WTT Star Contender Chennai 2025 Presented By IndianOil was organised by Stupa Sports Analytics and Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) under the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI). The event boasted a USD 275,000 prize purse and presented 600 ranking points to the winners. Playing in front of a packed house at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Harimoto and Hashimoto engaged in spectacular long rallies, testing each other's endurance and precision. The first two games saw both players cancelling each other out, but from Game 3 onwards, the contest took on a new dimension under the restriction of the Expedite Rule. Forced to play faster and more decisively with the 13-shot cap in place, Harimoto thrived under pressure, showcasing exceptional agility and tactical brilliance. Despite her opponent's relentless resistance, the 16-year-old held her nerve to win the Women's Singles Final. Later, the Men's Singles Final between Oh and Poret was a thrilling, end-to-end battle with momentum shifting at every turn. Both players displayed incredible skill and resilience, keeping the crowd on the edge of their seats. Oh, trailing 2-3, mounted a brilliant comeback to win the last two games, sealing a dramatic victory. Manav's memorable campaign ended in Session 1 with a hard-fought 3-1 loss to Thibault Poret in the Men's Singles Semifinals, earning him 210 WTT ranking points and a prize of USD 4,000, marking a significant achievement for Indian table tennis. Shortly after, South Korea's Lim and Shin, both Olympic medallists, showcased their prowess by clinching the Mixed Doubles title in straight games by easing past Japan's Maharu Yoshimura and Satsuki Odo with a clinical 11-8, 11-5, 11-4 win. Played across six days, WTT Star Contender Chennai 2025 featured 158 paddlers from across the globe, delivering high-octane matches and unforgettable moments throughout the event. Full Results (Main Draw, Day 4) Men's Singles (Semifinals) Oh Jun-sung (KOR) [12] Vs. Flavien Coton (FRA) 3-0: 11-4, 12-10, 11-7 Thibault Poret (FRA) Vs. Manav Thakkar (IND) 3-1: 12-10, 11-9, 7-11, 11-7 (Final, Best of 7) Oh Jun-sung (KOR) [12] Vs. Thibault Poret (FRA) 4-3: 9-11, 11-7, 11-3, 9-11, 6-11, 11-4, 11-7 Women's Singles (Semifinals) Miwa Harimoto (JPN) [2] Vs. Shin Yu-bin (KOR) [4] 3-0: 11-8, 11-4, 12-10 Honoka Hashimoto (JPN) [13] Vs. Kim Nayeong (KOR) 3-0: 11-6, 11-2, 11-2 (Final, Best of 7) Miwa Harimoto (JPN) [2] Vs. Honoka Hashimoto (JPN) [13] 4-2: 9-11, 11-3, 11-8, 11-9, 10-12, 11-7 Mixed Doubles (Final) Lim Jong-hoon (KOR)/Shin Yu-bin (KOR) [2] Vs. Maharu Yoshimura (JPN)/Satsuki Odo (JPN) [Q] 3-0: 11-8, 11-5, 11-4. (ANI)
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