WTT Youth Contender: Priyanuj Bhattacharya, Miku Matsushima Clinch U-19 Titles
India’s Priyanuj wins boys’ title as Japan’s Matsushima claims girls’ crown in Vadodara
VADODARA: India’s Priyanuj Bhattacharya and Japan’s Miku Matsushima registered contrasting victories to clinch the U-19 boys’ and girls’ singles titles at the WTT Youth Contender 2026, presented by the Sports Authority of Gujarat, at the SAMA Indoor Sports Complex here on Monday.
In the U-19 boys’ final, Priyanuj held his nerve at crucial moments to defeat Sarthak Arya 12-10, 11-8, 14-12, while Matsushima staged an impressive comeback in the girls’ final, recovering from a 1–2 deficit to beat top seed Divyanshi Bhowmick 11-6, 9-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-3.
Strong performances across age groups
The day also saw Sreejani Chakraborty and Aditya Das emerge champions in the U-15 girls’ and boys’ categories, while Aadya Baheti and Rajdeep Biswas claimed the U-11 titles.
The second edition of the WTT Youth Contender in Vadodara, hosted by the Table Tennis Association of Baroda and implemented by UTT, featured 226 players competing across age groups from U-11 to U-19.
Road to the U-19 titles
In the boys’ section, top seed Abhinandh Pradhivadhi was knocked out in the quarterfinals by Naman Bhatnagar, who later lost to Priyanuj in the semifinals.
In the girls’ U-19 draw, Matsushima defeated another leading Indian junior, Jennifer Varghese, 6-11, 12-10, 8-11, 11-4, 11-7 in the semifinals. Jennifer had earlier eliminated defending champion Syndrela Das in the quarterfinals. Syndrela, however, enjoyed a successful campaign, winning the U-17 girls’ singles and U-19 mixed doubles titles at this edition of the tournament.
U-11 and U-15 highlights
In the U-11 girls’ final, Aadya Baheti defeated Sakshya Santosh 15-13, 11-8, 12-10, while Rajdeep Biswas overcame Sharvil Karambelkar 11-8, 11-6, 11-13, 11-4 to clinch the boys’ title.
Top seed Aditya Das dominated the U-15 boys’ final, beating Sanjay Jagdish 11-4, 11-9, 11-8, while the U-15 girls’ final was a closely fought affair, with Sreejani Chakraborty prevailing 8-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-7, 11-5.
In other U-15 action, Vivaan Dave advanced to the quarterfinals with a 9-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-3 win over Rishaan Chattopadhyay and will face Rudra Jena, who defeated U-13 boys’ champion Dev Pranav Bhatt. Top seeds Ankolika Chakraborty, Naisha Rewaskar, and Tanishka Kalbhairav also progressed comfortably to the last eight in the girls’ section.
