New Delhi, September 27: Young Indian players delivered a stunning performance at the WTT Youth Contender Dammam 2024 in Saudi Arabia, amassing a total of 27 medals—6 gold, 7 silver, and 14 bronze.
The absence of key players from traditional powerhouses may have aided their strong display, but India seized the opportunity to make a resounding steak of fortune against nations like Chinese Taipei, Kazakhstan, Egypt, South Africa, Qatar, and Yemen.
In the U-19 Girls singles, India achieved a complete sweep, with Suhana Saini, Taneesha Kotcha, Sayali Wani, and Pritha Vartikar taking all the podium spots. For the U-19 Boys singles, Ankur Bhattacharjee secured silver, while P.B. Abhinand and Jash Modi claimed bronze, though Kazakhstan’s Alan Kurumangaliyet took the gold.
In the U-17 Boys singles, Priyanuj Bhattacharyya won silver, narrowly losing to Chinese Taipei’s Liu Shih-Ming in a hard-fought final. Abhinand added a bronze alongside Qatari paddler Rawad Alnaser.
The U-17 Girls final saw an Indian face-off where M. Hansini beat Syndrela Das to secure gold, with Divyanshi Bowmick and Jennifer Verghese sharing bronze.
Chinese Taipei’s dominance was felt in the U-15 Boys section, where Sarthak Arya took bronze. In the U-15 Girls, India once again ruled, with Kavya Bhatt, Hansini, Syndrela, and Divyanshi completing another medal sweep.
Mixed Events Glory:
India continued its success in the mixed doubles events. In the U-19 category, Jas Modi and Taneesha Kotcha captured gold, defeating compatriots Muthu Rajasekaran and Jennifer Verghese. The bronze went to two Indian pairs, Sarth Mishra-Sayali Wani and Suhana Saini-Divyansh Srivastava.
In U-15 mixed doubles, Sarthak Arya and Kavya Bhatt claimed gold, while the bronze went to Sahil Rawat-Divyanshi and Sarthak Arya-Syndrela Das.
India’s young paddlers capitalized on the absence of stronger competitors, making the tournament a landmark event for Indian table tennis.
