Manush Shah-Diya Chitale reflect on landmark run at WTT Star Contender Foz do Iguaçu 2025

Manush Shah and Diya Chitale capped off a landmark campaign for Indian table tennis at the WTT Star Contender Foz do Iguaçu 2025 in Brazil with a runner-up finish in the mixed doubles event on Sunday.

The top-seeded Indian table tennis players fought hard in the final but went down 3-2 to Japan’s Satoshi Aida and Honoka Hashimoto.

Back on Friday, however, Manush and Diya had made history by becoming the first Indian badminton players to reach the final of a WTT Star Contender event.

Their road to the final had been impressive, marked by a hard-fought win over Chile’s Gustavo Gomez-Daniela Ortega in the quarter-finals, followed by a dominant straight-games victory against Nicolas Burgos and Paulina Vega in the semis.

For Manush Shah, the week in Brazil was even more special. Alongside Manav Thakkar, he also reached the men’s doubles final but eventually lost the title decider to Benedikt Duda and Dang Qiu of Germany.

Despite losing both finals, the tournament in Brazil was a huge step forward for Indian table tennis in the right direction.

Olympics.com caught up with Manush Shah and Diya Chitale moments after the mixed doubles final for their take on the historic run.

Q: You made the finals in both men’s doubles and mixed doubles, with a very good campaign overall. What impressions do you take away from Brazil?

Manush Shah: I am very happy with the performance. It was the first time that we could enter the finals (of a WTT Star Contender), that too in two events. I’m really happy to help my country finish on the podium, but it was unfortunate that I lost two matches 3-2. Both finals were close, but we gained a lot from this experience. We are still a young pair in both men’s and mixed doubles, so this experience will help us move forward and make future success more achievable.

Q: You mentioned losing 3-2 in both finals. What do you think made the difference in the deciding sets?

Manush Shah: The key difference was experience. The German pair in men’s doubles were very experienced, having played at a high level for a long time. Manav and I are still young and upcoming, so immediately after the match, we were not too upset. Instead, we chose to reflect on the positives as well as the negatives, so we can take those lessons into our upcoming tournaments.

Q: Diya, do you have an idea how big this performance in Brazil is for table tennis in India?

Diya Chitale: Like Manush said, it was the first time that an Indian mixed doubles pair reached the finals at a WTT Star Contender. We were happy to make the final, but of course, it was a really close match. We were 2-1 up, but like he mentioned, we are still young. We will definitely learn from this and do better next time.

Q: Manush, what are your main goals for this season, for yourself, the pair, and Indian table tennis as a whole?

Manush Shah: The goal is simple – to get better than yesterday. Rankings will improve gradually, but our focus is on continuous improvement. We want to reflect on this good tournament, learn from the mistakes we made in the finals, and come back stronger in the next events.

Q: Diya, do you share the same perspective on goals for the upcoming tournaments?

Diya Chitale: Yes, it’s the same as he said. We try to do better in each tournament we play, not just in terms of results but also in improving our game and our basics. We work every day on our game. From where we started, we have come a long way, but there is still much more to achieve. This is just the beginning for us, and we will aim to do even better in the upcoming tournaments.

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