WTT Youth Contender: Varghese, Rajasekaran, Muralidharan, and Gupta seize gold in mixed doubles

Vadodara, Feb 28 (NationPress) Jennifer Varghese and Balamurugan Rajasekaran triumphed over the formidable duo of Taneesha Kotecha and Preyesh Suresh in the U-19 mixed doubles category of the WTT Youth Contender Vadodara 2025 on Friday. In the U-15 mixed doubles, Ananya Muralidharan and Ritvik Gupta also claimed victory. Though the match ended 3-2 (11/7, 9/11, 11/8, 1/11, 12/10), the winning pair never appeared to be in distress, as both Jennifer and Balamurugan maintained their confidence throughout the match.

The fourth set could have shaken any team after a loss of 1/11, but Jennifer and Balamurugan quickly regrouped. They devised a strategy to counter Preyesh’s control and Taneesha’s powerful cross-court strikes, ultimately securing the gold medal.

In another thrilling final, Ananya Muralidharan and Ritvik Gupta narrowly defeated Divyanshi Bhowmick and Sahil Rawat in the U-15 mixed doubles event. The close score of 3-2 reflects the intense competition.

Whenever it seemed that Divyanshi/Sahil might seize the match, their opponents mounted comebacks, culminating in a 3-2 win and 13-11 in the deciding set. The victors had to exert considerable effort for each point but successfully emerged on top.

The WTT Youth Contender Vadodara 2025 also commenced the group rounds for both U-19 and U-15 categories for boys and girls on Friday, with Ankur Bhattacharjee and Sayali Wani aiming to uphold their leading positions. The U-11 and U-15 categories began as well, featuring a significant number of players from India and Sri Lanka.

The day kicked off with the group stages of the U-15 boys, during which Shouren Soman, the top seed, won both of his matches to advance to the main draw. Sahil Rawat, the U-17 boys' runner-up, also initiated his journey with two group stage victories, looking to amend the outcome of previous finals.

Ranked 29th globally, Divyanshi Bhowmick had a stellar start, easily topping her group. The current favorite, Divyanshi, aims to carry the momentum from her U-17 victory into the U-15 competition. The U-19 boys' group matches showcased several tight contests, yet no significant upsets occurred as they entered the main draw. Ankur Bhattacharjee performed exceptionally, winning both of his group matches, while second seed Choi Jiwook also progressed to the main draw without difficulty.

The final day of the event on Saturday will feature the championship matches for six categories, including U-11 boys and girls, U-15 boys and girls, as well as the U-19 boys and girls’ singles events as the WTT Youth Contender Vadodara approaches its conclusion.