Vadodara, Jan 3 (NationPress) India's Syndrela Das and Rupam Sardar achieved significant victories, securing the U-17 girls' and U-17 boys' singles titles at the WTT Youth Contender 2026, held at the SAMA Indoor Sports Complex in Vadodara on Saturday. Additionally, Divija Paul and Dev Pranav Bhat were honored as the U-13 girls' and boys' champions respectively.

Syndrela, who previously clinched the U-19 girls' singles title last year, ended the impressive journey of Hansini Mathan with a score of 11-3, 9-11, 11-9, 11-8 in the U-17 girls' singles final. Meanwhile, Rupam Sardar triumphed over Soham Mukherjee with scores of 11-8, 6-11, 11-5, 11-3 in the boys' U-17 final.

This marks the second consecutive year for the WTT Youth Contender in Vadodara, featuring competitions across categories from U-11 to U-19 with a total of 226 players participating.

In the U-13 category, Divija Paul made a remarkable comeback from a 1-2 deficit to defeat Harshitha Nurani with scores of 11-7, 7-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-5 in the girls' singles final, while Dev Pranav Bhatt won the boys' singles title against Ashvajith Muthukumaran with scores of 11-6, 7-11, 11-7, 11-4.

Syndrela, having previously defeated the second-seeded Miku Matsushima of Japan in the semifinals, started strong and dominated the opening game. However, Hansini, who had upset the top seed Divyanshi Bhowmick in the pre-quarterfinals, found her rhythm and claimed the second game.

Nonetheless, it was Syndrela's experience that proved crucial as she clinched the next two games in a closely contested match to secure the title.

Looking ahead, she also has a chance to win the U-19 mixed doubles title on Sunday, as she and her partner Sarthak Arya face off against the top seeds Abhinandh Pradhivadhi and Ananya Muralidharan, who demonstrated their prowess by reaching this stage.

In their semifinal, Abhinandh and Ananya triumphed over Ritvik Gupta and Ahona Ray with scores of 9-11, 14-12, 11-7, 11-8. Meanwhile, Sarthak and Syndrela ended the impressive run of Sahil Rawat and Hardee Patel with scores of 11-6, 12-10, 5-11, 11-5.

Earlier in the competition, Vivaan Dave and Naisha Rewaskar showcased exceptional skills in a thrilling decider that went into extra points, upsetting the top seeds Aditya Das and Ankolika Chakraborty in the U-15 mixed doubles semifinals.

The duo emerged victorious with scores of 13-11, 5-11, 11-7, 5-11, 23-21, setting up a final against compatriots Reyansh Jalan and Tanishka Kalbhairav, who defeated Sanjay Jagdish and Myraa Sangelkar with scores of 11-3, 15-13, 11-7 in their semifinal.

Vivaan and Naisha displayed remarkable resilience right from the start, coming back from a 5-8 deficit and saving a game point to win the opening game.

The next three games were fiercely contested, culminating in a thrilling decider. While Aditya and Ankolika initially surged ahead with a 4-0 lead and three match points at 10-7, Vivaan and Naisha managed to save those match points and seize the lead, ultimately winning four consecutive points to finalize the match.