Manush-Diya Pair Places Second at the WTT Star Contender Foz do Iguacu in Brazil

Manush Shah and Diya Chitale lost to Japanese qualifiers Satoshi Aida and Honoka Hashimoto 2-3 (4-11, 11-8, 11-5, 5-11, 2-11) in the final of the WTT Star Contender Foz do Iguacu in Brazil, finishing second in the mixed doubles competition.

Despite their best efforts, the top-seeded Indian table tennis players lost 3-2 against Satoshi Aida and Honoka Hashimoto of Japan.

However, Manush and Diya had already made history on Friday when they advanced to the final of a WTT Star Contender event, making them the first Indian badminton players to do so.

They had fought their way to the final, defeating Chile’s Gustavo Gomez-Daniela Ortega in the quarterfinals and then defeating Nicolas Burgos and Paulina Vega in straight games in the semifinals.

Manush also lost to second seeds Benedikt Duda and Dang Qiu of Germany 2-3 (3-11, 11-7, 7-11, 15-13, 5-11) in a 42-minute summit match, finishing second in the men’s doubles competition with Manav Thakkar.

Manika Batra, an Indian paddler, had earlier withdrawn after losing to Hashimoto in the quarterfinals.