WTT Youth Contender 2026: Local star Ved Panchal, Divyanshi Bhowmik dominate group stage in Vadodara

Alex is web content writer who is covering various sports, technology in sports and igaming space from 2017.

Published at :January 2, 2026 at 5:42 PM

Modified at :January 2, 2026 at 5:43 PM

WTT Youth Contender 2026: Local star Ved Panchal, Divyanshi Bhowmik & top juniors dominate group stage in Vadodara

(Courtesy : WTT Youth Contender)

Local boy Ved Panchal wins all group matches to qualify for the knockouts

Defending champion Divyanshi Bhowmik, Syndrela Das, Japan’s Miku Matsushima and rising star Tanishka Kalbhairav kicked off their U-17 girls singles campaign in the WTT Youth Contender 2026 with comfortable wins in the group stage at the SAMA Indoor Stadium in Vadodara on Friday.

The second edition of WTT Youth Contender, that kicked off today, has competitions from U-11 to U-19 with the U-13 and U-17 boys and girls in action on the opening day.

Divyanshi, who had won both the U-15 and U-17 girls singles titles last year, opened her campaign by blanking compatriot Neeza Kamat 11-4, 11-1, 11-2 in the Group 1 opener while Syndrela defeated Tania Karmakar 11-6, 11-6, 11-2 in Group 3.

Japan’s Matsushima took big strides towards the knockout stage with 11-3, 11-4, 11-2 win over Swara Karmakar and then defeated Anvi Gupte 11-6, 11-3, 11-8 in Group 2.

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In the boy’s U-17 category, top seed Ritvik Gupta won both his Group 1 matches. Gupta defeated Dhruva Malikarjunan 11-9, 11-5, 11-5 and then got the better of Shreyas Mankeshwar 13-11, 11-6, 11-7.

Local boy Ved Panchal also advanced to the knockout stage with three wins from three matches in Group 21. He first defeated Aarav Singhvi 11-9, 11-7, 11-7, then overcame a stiff challenge from Aarav Rathi with a 11-9, 11-8, 9-11, 9-11, 11-6 before beating Nitin Veeraraghavan 12-10, 11-6, 11-7 to top the group.

Also Read: ITTF World Youth Championships 2025: Divyanshi Bhowmick scripts history with U-15 singles medal

Aditya Das and Sahil Rawat from Group 2 and Group 3 also topped their respective groups with two victories.In the u-13 boys category, Shaurya Goyal was made to work hard for his 10-12, 11-9, 13-11, 7-11, 11-6 win over Suchet Dharennavar in group 1.

Divija Paul, the top ranked player in girls U-13 didn’t break much sweat in Group 1 as she registered easy wins. First she defeated Inaaya 11-8, 11-3, 11-5 and then got the better of Pehel Gupta 11-9, 11-7, 11-2.

What is the WTT Youth Contender 2026?

The WTT Youth Contender 2026 is an international table tennis tournament featuring age-group events from U-11 to U-19.

Where is the WTT Youth Contender 2026 being held?

The tournament is taking place at the SAMA Indoor Stadium in Vadodara, Gujarat.

Who stood out in the U-17 categories on Day 1?

Defending champion Divyanshi Bhowmik, Syndrela Das, Japan’s Miku Matsushima, Ritvik Gupta and local player Ved Panchal impressed with strong group-stage wins.

How did Ved Panchal perform in the group stage?

Ved Panchal won all three of his group matches to finish on top of his group and qualify for the knockout stage.

Which other age categories were in action on the opening day?

U-13 boys and girls also competed, with players like Shaurya Goyal and top-ranked Divija Paul recording notable wins.

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Alex

Alex graduated in mass communication in 2016 and has been covering global sports for Khel Now since then. He is covering sports tech, igaming, sports betting and casino domain from 2017.