Sathiyan Gnanasekaran's WTT Feeder Vientiane title powers him to India No. 2

Sathiyan Gnanasekaran bagged his fifth singles title at the WTT Feeder Vientiane 2025.

Table tennis star Sathiyan Gnanasekaran has climbed to India’s No. 2 in the men’s singles rankings, following his title-winning run at the WTT Feeder Vientiane 2025 last week.

The 31-year-old jumped 28 places in the world rankings to reach World No. 71 with 374 points. He now sits just behind Manav Thakkar, who continues to lead the Indian charts as World No. 41 with 640 points. Meanwhile, China’s Lin Shidong leads the global rankings with 8,975 points.

Sathiyan’s rise comes on the back of a dominant campaign in Laos, where he lifted his fifth career singles title. He capped off the week by stunning Japan’s top seed Ryoichi Yoshiyama 3-0 (11-4, 11-6, 12-10) in the final that lasted just 25 minutes.

The Indian paddler kicked off his journey with a 3-0 win over wildcard Anane Vongsa in the opening match, then came from behind to beat Singapore’s Le Ellsworth 3-1 in the second round.

Also Read: List of Indian doubles pairs to reach top 10 of table tennis rankings

In the quarterfinals, Sathiyan overcame Indian compatriot Akash Pal in a tense five-game clash (11-9, 11-4, 4-11, 10-12, 11-8), before cruising past Hong Kong China’s Kwan To Yiu 3-0 (11-3, 11-5, 12-10) in the semi-final.

Following the victory, Sathiyan said, “Five trophies in five different years and five different countries. Won my first international title in 2016 & extremely happy to have won my 5th tour title almost a decade later in 2025. First Indian paddler to achieve this feat.”

This was also his second trophy of 2025, having earlier won the WTT Contender Lagos doubles title with Akash Pal earlier this season.

Also Read: Indian men’s & women’s teams qualify for World Table Tennis Championships 2026

At the WTT Feeder Vientiane 2025, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran participated in the men’s doubles tournament paired with Anirban Ghosh. The Indians enjoyed a strong run before falling to Hong Kong China’s Man Ho Kwan and Hon Ming Li in the semifinals 3-1 (11-9, 11-6, 2-11, 11-8).

Speaking of the rankings, Akash Pal also saw a notable rise, climbing 15 positions to reach seventh place in India with 151 points. In the women’s singles, Sreeja Akula leads the chart with 565 points, ahead of Manika Batra, who has 490 points.

In women’s doubles, the pair of Sutirtha Mukherjee and Ayhika Mukherjee is India’s top-ranked duo, holding the World No. 38 spot. India’s top mixed doubles team of Diya Chitale and Manush Shah enjoys an even stronger global position, ranked World No. 7 with 2,065 points.

In men’s doubles, the leading Indian pair is Manav Thakkar and Manush Shah, who have accumulated 2,205 points and are placed 7th in the world rankings.

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