WTT Star Contender Chennai 2025: Teen Prodigies Oh Jun-Sung, Miwa Harimoto Reign Supreme

Eighteen-year-old Oh Jun-sung defeated French youngster Thibault Poret in a seven-game Men's Singles thriller to win his maiden WTT Star Contender title at WTT Star Contender Chennai 2025 on Sunday. In Women's Singles, 16-year-old Miwa Harimoto, an Olympic medallist in Paris 2024, defeated her compatriot Honoka Hashimoto 4-2 to win her first crown at this level. Earlier in the day, Manav Thakkar's historic run came to an end in the penultimate round, leaving him as the sole Indian male player to have reached a WTT Star Contender Semifinal. South Korea's Lim Jong-hoon and Shin Yu-bin, meanwhile, won the Mixed Doubles title with a straight-games victory.

WTT Star Contender Chennai 2025 Presented By IndianOil was organised by Stupa Sports Analytics and Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) under the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI). The event boasted a USD 275,000 prize purse and presented 600 ranking points to the winners.

Playing in front of a packed house at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Harimoto and Hashimoto engaged in spectacular long rallies, testing each other's endurance and precision. The first two games saw both players cancelling each other out, but from Game 3 onwards, the contest took on a new dimension under the restriction of the Expedite Rule. Forced to play faster and more decisively with the 13-shot cap in place, Harimoto thrived under pressure, showcasing exceptional agility and tactical brilliance. Despite her opponent's relentless resistance, the 16-year-old held her nerve to win the Women's Singles Final.

Later, the Men's Singles Final between Oh and Poret was a thrilling, end-to-end battle with momentum shifting at every turn. Both players displayed incredible skill and resilience, keeping the