Manav Thakkar goes down fighting to Thibault Poret in WTT Star Contender Chennai men's singles SF
On the final day of the WTT Star Contender Chennai, Manav Thakkar, India's last man standing, bowed out in the men's singles semifinal. Manav displayed power and aggression but failed to disrupt Thibault Poret's composure, going down 1-3 (10-12, 9-11, 11-7, 7-11) on Sunday (March 30).
Manav Thakkar had earlier created history by becoming the first player to advance to a men's singles quarterfinal at a WTT Star Contender event.
India's table tennis icon Sharath Kamal bid adieu to the game at the WTT Star Contender Chennai 2025.
Manav Thakkar saved three game points but failed to stop Thibault from taking the first game 12-10.
A devastating forehand enabled the French paddler to level the score at 2-2 after Manav had begun the second game well at 2-0.
Manav attempted to unsettle Poret with fixed stares, but the Frenchman refused to react even as coach Massimo Costantini gestured to his Indian protege after every point.
Poret got his act together to take a vital 9-7 lead before calling for a timeout at 9-8. An apology from Poret following a net cord took him to game point before the ball touched the top edge of his racquet for another lucky point which helped the French player take the second game.
A couple of misses from Poret allowed Manav to take a 4-2 lead in the third game but Poret rallied to force a 5-5 scoreline.
A flurry of shots from Poret that struck the net and whistled out helped Manav manufacture a fightback to win the third game much to the delight of the crowd.
Poret displayed great sportsmanship to hand Manav a point following a questionable edge off the table which allowed the 24-year-old to take a 6-5 lead.
Manav failed to extend the lead opting instead for a timeout with the score at 6-7 in his opponent's favor.
Thibault won four points in a row to dash Indian hopes and advance to the men's singles final of the WTT Star Contender Chennai.
How have Indian players fared at the WTT Star Contender Chennai?
Having received first-round byes in women's singles, both Manika Batra and Sreeja Akula failed to advance beyond the second round.
Manika Batra went down to Huang Yu-Jie of Chinese Taipei 1-3 (7-11, 10-12, 11-7, 9-11) while Sreeja Akula was defeated by compatriot Krittwika Roy 2-3 (6-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-4, 7-11).
Krittwika Roy fell to Miyu Nagasaki of Japan in the Round of 16, going down 0-3 (4-11, 2-11, 7-11).
Mumbai teenager Divyanshi Bhowmick impressed fans by coming through the qualifiers before going down 1-3 (13-11, 4-11, 7-11, 10-12) against Shin Yubin of South Korea in the Round of 32.
In men's singles, Sharath Kamal advanced to the Round of 16 before going down against Snehit Suravajjula 0-3 (9-11, 8-11, 9-11) in his farewell tournament. Snehit then lost to Thibault Poret 1-3 (4-11, 11-6, 7-11, 6-11) in the men's singles quarterfinals.
Sharath Kamal and Snehit Suravajjula advanced to the men's doubles semifinals but were no match for Lim Jonghoon and An Jaehyun of South Korea, losing 1-3 (11-9, 8-11, 9-11, 6-11).
Manush Shah and Diya Chitale made it to the mixed doubles semifinals before going down to Korea's Lim Jonghoon and Shin Yubin 0-3 (7-11, 9-11, 3-11) in the WTT Star Contender Chennai.