Published: September 4, 2026 at 10:23 am
India’s Hitesh Dolwani defeated World No.27 Cigolloti Julien of France to win the singles title at the ITTF World Para Future Tournament in Lahti, Finland.
Hitesh, the one-handed wonder paddler from Hyderabad, brooked no challenge against his French rival as he cruised to a 3-1 victory. Hitesh was off to a good start as he won the first game at 11-8 and then maintained the momentum in the second game which he won at 11-8.
However, Julien struck back in the third game to win it 11-4. A chastened Hitesh pulled up his socks and took the hard-fought fourth game 11-9 to win the title.
Hitesh Dolwani wins title in Class 10 category at Para Senior National Table Tennis meet
In the semifinals, Hitesh was up against World No.42 Flint Maximillian of Great Britain. Hitesh was made to struggle by Flint as the latter gave the Indian some anxious moment in the middle of the match before Hitesh managed to pull off a 3-2 victory.
Hitesh began soundly with a comfortable 11-4 win in the first game and when one thought the Indian will sail through the contest, Flint turned the script upside down.
Flint took charge of the proceedings and began to make Hitesh dance to his tune. Flint won the second game at 11-1 and then took the third one too at 11-7 to go 2-1 up in the contest.
Knowing that the match was slipping out of his hand, Hitesh changed tactics and that paid dividends. He slowly regained control of the contest and took the next two games at 11-8 and 11-6 to scrape through.
Hitesh downs World No.13 Brazilian in quarters
Hitesh’s high point in the tournament came in the quarterfinal when he defeated World No.13 Dos Santos Carvalho Lucas of Brazil 3-0. The Brazilian paddler put up a fight in the first game but after losing it he faded away rather quickly.
In a hard-fought first game, Hitesh managed to win the big points at key junctures to take the game at 15-13. Thereafter, it turned out to be smooth sailing for the Indian paddler. Hitesh won the next two games at 11-7 and 11-8.
In the pre-quarterfinals, Hitesh breezed past Ireland’s Brennan Sam Patrick 3-0.
Results: Final: Hitesh Dolwani (India) beat Cigolloti Julien (France) 3-1 (11-8, 11-8, 4-11, 11-9). Semifinal: Hitesh Dolwani beat Flint Maximillian (Great Britain) 3-2 (11-4, 1-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-6). Quarterfinal: Hitesh Dolwani beat Dos Santos Carvalho Lucas (Brazil) 3-0 (15-13, 11-7, 11-8). Pre-quarterfinals: Hitesh Dolwani beat Brennan Sam Patrick (Ireland) 3-0 (11-4, 11-6, 11-8).
