Indian Table Tennis legend Sharath Kamal bade an emotional farewell to the sport following his defeat to Snehit Suravajjula at the WTT Star Contender Chennai 2025.
With his run in the event coming to an end, Sharath Kamal played a spirited exhibition match against Egypt’s Omar Assar, which served as his final good-bye, before delivering an emotional address to the gathered crowd.
“Somewhere down the line I had felt it’s enough and I wanted to explore the possibility of giving back to the sport from the other side of the court. I have done my part as a player, I felt I had contributed enough to the country as a player, and I want to contribute from the other side, as an administrator, or a coach, a mentor, or even as just a senior player,” Sharath Kamal said, while thanking family, friends, fans, employers IndianOil, SDAT, Stupa Sports Analytics, Ultimate Table Tennis, TTFI, and ITTF.
Earlier in the day, 24-year-old Manav Thakkar etched his name in history books by becoming the first Indian male player to reach a WTT Star Contender semifinals.
Manav claimed victory in successive five-game thrillers over Germany’s Andre Bertelsmeier and South Korea’s Lim Jong-hoon, an Olympic medallist, to reach the semifinals.
Flavien Coton recorded back-to-back upsets to enter the semis, while Oh Jun-sung completed the quartet with his win over Tomislav Pucar.
In Women’s Singles, Shin Yu-bin advanced comfortably, sweeping past Miyu Nagasaki in straight games. Honoka Hashimoto’s strong form persisted as she defeated Joo Cheonhui, while Miwa Harimoto cruised past Yuan Wan. Kim Nayeong stunned sixth seed Adriana Diaz, completing a commanding win to reach the final four.
In an electrifying showdown to close out the day, South Korea’s Lim Jong-hoon and An Jae-hyun powered their way to the Men’s Doubles crown, defeating top seeds Tomokazu Harimoto and Sora Matsushima 3-1 with commanding flair.
The Women’s Doubles Final, meanwhile, was a nail-biting thriller, as Japan’s Miwa Harimoto and Miyuu Kihara battled past Shin Yu-bin and Ryu Hanna, sealing a dramatic 11-5 triumph in the deciding game.
