Manush Shah urges Indian table tennis to dream big after making history at WTT Star Contender Foz do Iguaçu 2025
India’s Manush Shah is enjoying a brilliant campaign at the WTT Star Contender Foz do Iguaçu 2025 in Brazil, reaching the finals in both men’s and mixed doubles. He also made the pre-quarterfinals in singles.This is the first instance of Indian table tennis players making it through to a final at any WTT Star Contender tournament to date.In men’s doubles, Shah and Manav Thakkar, the top seeds, overcame Japanese qualifiers Satoshi Aida and Mizuki Oikawa 3-1 in the round of 16, rallied to beat France’s Florian Bourrassaud and Lilian Bardet 3-2 in the quarters and edged Chinese Taipei’s Huang Yan-Cheng and Kuo Guan-Hong 3-2 in the semis.In mixed doubles, Shah and Diya Chitale, also the top seeds, marched into the final with a straight-games win over Chile’s Nicolas Burgos and Paulina Vega 3-0 in the semi-finals, after defeating Gustavo Gomez and Daniela Ortega 3-1 in the quarter-finals.Just a few months ago, Manush Shah, alongside Diya Chitale, clinched the WTT Contender Tunis mixed doubles title in Tunisia.It was only India’s second mixed doubles triumph at a WTT Contender event since the ITTF format was revamped in 2021.The WTT Contender and Star Contender series offer valuable world ranking points, enabling table tennis players to climb the ladder and qualify for higher-tier events such as the WTT Champions and Grand Smash tournaments.Olympics.com caught up with Manush after he secured his place in both finals on Friday to share his thoughts on this special campaign.Q: What a great and unforgettable day for India today, isn't it?Manush Shah: Yes, absolutely. It’s the first time that India is reaching the finals in mixed doubles and men’s doubles both. I’m really happy that I could contribute so far. I hope to take the trophy home for my country.Q: What are your thoughts and feelings about today?Manush Shah: I’m still slowly and gradually processing the day. It has been a long day – I played five matches, two mixed doubles, two men’s doubles, and one singles. I am really happy to have a 5/5 win record for me but the tournament is not over. I’ll take tonight as a good rest period and then prepare better for tomorrow because I’ll be facing a stronger opponent.Q: Do you have any idea how big this achievement is for table tennis in India?Manush Shah: Yeah, I think it’s history because nobody has reached the men’s doubles final at a Star Contender before. I’m really happy with my performance and hoping to make more history like this in the coming times.Q: Which factors do you think contributed to this success?Manush Shah: It has been a long journey for me in both men’s doubles and mixed doubles. Me and my partners have been playing together for years and training hard for what I achieved today. But it’s still not done, as I said before. There are a lot of factors – first, the Sports Authority of India, because of whom we are here, and TTFI, without whom this trip wouldn’t have been possible.Q: How do you think you complement your mixed doubles partner? What’s the secret behind playing so well together in mixed and men’s doubles?Manush Shah: I don’t think there’s a big secret I can share at the moment, but something I can say is the bond we share off the table. Me and Manav, in men’s doubles, are really good friends, and we’ve known each other for a long time, so we share a strong bond. The same goes with Diya – we’ve been playing together for years. She was in juniors when I was a little senior to her, but we’ve been at tournaments together for a long time. With each passing day, the chemistry between both of us is getting better and better.Q: To close, a message for table tennis fans in India?Manush Shah: Sky is the limit – dare to dream, I would say. In India, there are many players, but they’re not daring enough to dream big. I’m really happy that I can at least help a few dream big. That’s my message for the young ones coming up, and I wish them all the very best for the future.
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