Divyanshi bhowmik

Favourites Divyanshi Bhowmik: Defending champion Divyanshi Bhowmik, Syndrela Das, Japan’s Miku Matsushima, and rising star Tanishka Kalbhairav kicked off their U-17 girls singles campaign in the World Table Tennis (WTT) Youth Contender 2026 with comfortable wins in the group stage at the SAMA Indoor Stadium here on Friday.

The second edition of WTT Youth Contender, which kicked off on Friday, features competitions from U-11 to U-19, with the U-13 and U-17 boys' and girls' teams in action on the opening day.

Divyanshi, who had won both the U-15 and U-17 girls singles titles last year, opened her campaign by blanking compatriot Neeza Kamat 11-4, 11-1, 11-2 in the Group 1 opener, while Syndrela defeated Tania Karmakar 11-6, 11-6, 11-2 in Group 3.