Harmeet Desai and Yashaswini Ghorpade went down in the mixed doubles final at the WTT Star Contender Chennai 2026 in Chennai on Sunday.
Czechia’s Lubomír Jancarík and Japan’s Satsuki Odo won the men’s and women’s singles titles. Competing at the Tamil Nadu Physical Education and Sports University, two-time Olympian Lubomir Jancarik overcame fifth seed Thibault Poret of France 4-2 (11-8, 9-11, 11-7, 11-9, 9-11, 11-8) to become the men’s singles champion. The win made Jancarik the first player from Czechia to clinch a WTT Series title.
The women’s singles final was an all-Japanese showdown with top seed Satsuki Odo facing two-time Olympic team silver medallist Miu Hirano.
Odo set the tone with a dominant start, sweeping the first two games before holding her nerve in a tense third, which Hirano dragged into a tie-break. The top seed then closed out the contest in straight games, winning 4-0 (11-2, 11-7, 13-11, 11-5).
Japanese paddlers also won the women’s doubles title after Sakura Yokoi and Sachi Aoki stunned top seeds Ryu Han-na and Nayeong Kim of South Korea 3-1 (11-6, 6-11, 11-8, 11-8).
Meanwhile, India’s challenge in the WTT Star Contender Chennai had ended earlier in the day after fourth seeds Harmeet Desai and Yashaswini Ghorpade lost the mixed doubles final against second-seeded Eduard Ionescu and Bernadette Szocs of Romania.
Up against world No. 13 Eduard Ionescu and Bernadette Szocs, India’s Harmeet Desai and Yashaswini Ghorpade, 33rd in the mixed doubles table tennis rankings, lost the final 3-0 (11-9, 11-2, 11-8).
Despite the defeat, Harmeet Desai and Yashaswini Ghorpade’s mixed doubles runners-up performance marked the best finish for an Indian pairing in the four editions of the WTT Star Contender India so far.
WTT Star Contender Chennai 2026 winners
Men’s singles: Lubomír Jančařík (Czechia)
Men’s doubles: Thibault Poret-Flavien Coton (France)
Women’s singles: Satsuki Odo (Japan)
Women’s doubles: Sakura Yokoi-Sachi Aoki (Japan)
Mixed doubles: Eduard Ionescu-Bernadette Szocs (Belgium)
