Rising Indian talents delivered stunning upsets on the opening day of the inaugural WTT Feeder Series 2026 at Vadodara's SAMA Indoor Sports Complex on Friday (January 9).
The event saw junior sensation Hansini Mathan, wildcard warrior Sanil Shetty, and mixed doubles pair Payas Jain-Syndrela Das topple higher-ranked foes to storm into the second round.
A Day of Upsets in WTT 2026: Favourites Fall, Contenders Rise
Teen prodigy Hansini Mathan, India's youngest-ever junior national champion at 16, unleashed her best form to dismantle world No. 78 and third seed Yoo Yerin of Korea Republic 11-8, 11-3, 11-9. Next up for her is Ryu Hanna of Korea Republic, who edged out fellow Indian hopeful Tanishka Kalbhairav 7-11, 11-7, 11-5, 9-11, 11-9 in a nail-biter.
Hansini doubled her joy in women's doubles, partnering Sampada
Bhiwandkar to shock third seeds Anusha Kutumbale and Baisya 9-11, 15-13, 11-4, 6-11, 12-10.
In men's singles, Sanil Shetty staged a heroic comeback from 0-2 down, saving a match point to dethrone second seed Harmeet Desai 6-11, 5-11, 14-12, 13-11, 11-7. Shetty now eyes qualifier Sougata Sarkar in the pre-quarterfinals.
Priyanuj Bhattacharya joined the upset parade, ousting eighth seed Navid Shams of Iran 9-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-4, and will clash with Yashansh Malik next.
The mixed doubles opener brought more drama as Payas Jain and Syndrela Das recovered from a shaky start to defeat Pal and Baisya 4-11, 11-6, 11-8, 10-12, 11-6. Syndrela failed to win her women's doubles match with Divyanshi Bhowmick, but rallied with ease in her singles match.
Bengal's Shankhadip Das also secured a fantastic win over Harkunwar Singh 11-4, 9-11, 11-8, 11-8. Shankhadip, who is playing his first ever Feeder event, will take on 5th seed Akash Pal in his next encounter.
Manush, Ankur continue Domination
Top seeds held firm in men's singles too. No. 1 Manush Shah cruised past qualifier Parth Magar 11-7, 11-4, 11-4, dominating with a 5-2 early lead in the opener and six straight points mid-second game.
Third seed Snehit Suravajjula dispatched wildcard Pratham Madlani 11-5, 11-7, 11-3, while sixth seed Ankur Bhattacharjee outlasted Abhinandh Pradhivadhi 11-6, 3-11, 11-8, 11-6.
Pre-quarterfinal matchups pit Bhattacharjee against Mudit Dani, who beat Ved Sheth 11-7, 7-11, 11-6, 6-11, 11-6. Snehit takes on Divyansh Srivastava, who secured a win over Balamurugan Rajasekaran.
