WTT Youth Contender: Syndrela, Rupam clinch U-17 girls and boys singles titles

Vadodara, Jan 3 (PTI) Syndrela Das and Rupam Sardar registered easy wins to clinch the U-17 girls and U-17 boys singles titles respectively, while Divija Paul and Dev Pranav Bhat were crowned the U-13 girls and boys champions in the WTT Youth Contender 2026 here on Saturday.

Syndrela, who had won the U-19 girls singles title last year, ended the run of Hansini Mathan 11-3, 9-11, 11-9, 11-8 in the U-17 girls singles title showdown, while Rupam Sardar defeated Soham Mukherjee 11-8, 6-11, 11-5, 11-3 in the boys U-17 final.

This is the second year of the WTT Youth Contender and is featuring a total of 226 players.

In the U-13 girls single final, Divija Paul fought back from a 1-2 deficit to beat Harshitha Nurani 11-7, 7-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-5, Dev Pranav Bhatt clinched the boys singles title with a 11-6, 7-11, 11-7, 11-4 win over Ashvajith Muthukumaran.

Syndrela, who had upset second seed Miku Matsushima of Japan in the semifinal, dominated the opening game. But Hansini, who had upset top seed Divyanshi Bhowmick in the pre-quarterfinals, managed to find her rhythm and took the second game.

However, it was Syndrela’s experience that made the different as she pocked the next two games despite a close fight to clinch the title.

She will also have a chance to grab the U-19 mixed doubles crown on Sunday as she and her partner Sarthak Arya set up a summit clash against top seeds Abhinandh Pradhivadhi and Ananya Muralidharan.

Abhinandh and Ananya lived up to their top billings to set up the U-19 mixed doubles summit clash against Sarthak and Syndrela.

In the semifinals, Abhinandh and Ananya defeated Ritvik Gupta and Ahona Ray 9-11, 14-12, 11-7, 11-8, while Sarthak and Syndrela ended the run of Sahil Rawat and Hardee Patel 11-6, 12-10, 5-11, 11-5.

Vivaan Dave and Naisha Rewaskar upset top seeds Aditya Das and Ankolika Chakraborty 13-11, 5-11, 11-7, 5-11, 23-21 in the U-15 mixed doubles semifinal. They will take on Reyansh Jalan and Tanishka Kalbhairav, who beat Sanjay Jagdish and Myraa Sangelkar 11-3, 15-13, 11-7 in the other semifinal. PTI AM AM PDS PDS