World No. 5 Hugo Calderano and Manika Batra headline strong field

Mapusa (Goa): Some of the topline table tennis players such as world No. 5 Hugo Calderano, ace Indian paddler Manika Batra, doubles specialists G Sathiyan and Achanta Sharath Kamal will headline a star-studded field of the WTT Star Contender 2024. The tournament is scheduled to be held here between January 23 and 28 at the Peddem Indoor Stadium.

The Star Contender tournament, with a total purse of USD 250,000, allows players to win ranking points and qualify for the WTT Cup Finals and WTT Champions Series.

Calderano, the former Youth Olympics bronze medallist from Brazil, will be among the 17 top 20 stars to feature in the singles main draw of the event co-hosted by Stupa Sports Analytics and Ultimate Table Tennis under the guidance of Table Tennis Federation of India.

Batra, who is currently ranked 35 in the world, reigning national champion Harmeet Desai and Sreeja Akula have ensured India’s presence in the singles main draw with direct entries. The 48-player singles main draw will consist of 34 direct entries, four wildcards, two top-20 nominations by WTT and eight qualifiers.

The 17-year-old rising French star Felix Lebrun (WR 8), former World No. 1 and two-time Olympics bronze medallist Dimitrij Ovtcharov (WR 12), African legend Quadri Aruna (WR 16), 2021 World Championships silver medallist Truls Moregard of Sweden (WR 19) and South Korea’s Jang Woojin (WR 10) are among the key attractions in the men’s singles main draw.

Apart from Batra, the women’s singles main draw will feature South Korea’s Shin Yubin (WR 9), Xiaoxin Yang (WR 14), Joo Cheonhui (WR 16) and the last edition’s runner-up Cheng I-Ching (WR 18).