New Delhi: Indian table tennis players Manush Shah and Diya Chitale captured the mixed doubles title at the WTT Contender Muscat 2026, sealing a hard-fought five-game victory at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Oman on Friday.
The third-seeded Indian duo edged past China’s fourth seeds Huang Youzheng and Shi Xunyao 3–2 (11-5, 5-11, 11-5, 5-11, 13-11) in a gripping 37-minute final to clinch their second mixed doubles crown at a WTT Contender event, according to reports.
Ranked world No. 8, Manush and Diya had earlier won the WTT Contender Tunis title in April last year, defeating Japan’s Sora Matsushima and Miwa Harimoto in the final. Harimoto was part of Japan’s silver-medal-winning squad at the Paris 2024 Olympics. The Indian pair also claimed the WTT Feeder Beirut title in 2024 and became the first Indian duo to qualify for the WTT Finals last year.
Their Muscat triumph was built on resilience, highlighted by a dramatic comeback in the semi-finals, where they recovered from a two-game deficit to beat France’s Thibault Poret and Charlotte Lutz 3–2.
The title run began with a narrow win over China’s Chen Yuanyu and Han Feier in the round of 16, followed by a 3–1 quarter-final victory against Singapore’s Pang Koen and Zeng Jian.
WTT Contender tournaments offer valuable world ranking points and serve as stepping stones to higher-tier events such as WTT Champions and Grand Smash competitions.
Manush also impressed in the men’s doubles event alongside Manav Thakkar, with the Indian pair reaching the semi-finals before losing 3–2 to China’s Lin Shidong and Huang Youzheng.
