Chennai is set to become the latest city to host a prestigious WTT Star Contender Series event. The WTT Star Contender Chennai 2025 will take place from March 25 to March 30 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Chennai. The qualifying rounds will be held on the first two days, March 25 and 26, followed by the main draw matches from March 27 to 30.
The tournament boasts a prize pool of USD 275,000 and is also an ITTF Table Tennis World Ranking event, making every match crucial for the players.
The competition will feature top players, including Japan’s Hina Hayata (World Rank 5), the top seed who will look to add another WTT title to her collection. She is among the frontrunners in the women’s singles category, which will also see Indian stars Manika Batra and Sreeja Akula, seeded ninth and tenth. Manika and Sreeja are the only two Indian players among the top ten seeds in the tournament.
Other Indian participants in this category include Ayhika Mukherjee, Sutirtha Mukherjee, Diya Chitale, Yashaswini Ghorpade, and Swastika Ghosh.
In the men’s singles category, Indian table tennis legend Sharath Kamal is set to make his return alongside Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Manav Thakkar.
Speaking exclusively to RevSportz at an event hosted by the Dream Sports Foundation, Sreeja shared her excitement about playing a WTT Star Series tournament on home soil. She said, “I’m really looking forward to it, and it’ll be a great tournament not only for the players participating but also for the people coming to watch.”
She emphasised the impact such a global event could have on inspiring young athletes. “The younger generation will learn a lot by watching global stars, and it will generate more interest in the sport as a whole,” she said.
Sreeja acknowledged that playing in front of a home crowd brought added pressure but also served as motivation. “Yes, it’s obviously an added pressure with the home crowd cheering and having high expectations, but it will also push us to perform better.”
Reflecting on India’s best-ever table tennis campaign at the Olympic Games in Paris 2024, where the women’s team reached the quarterfinals before losing to Germany, Sreeja noted the positive shift in interest toward the sport. “After our Paris 2024 performance, we received a lot of positive feedback,” she said. “More young players are taking an interest in table tennis, and parents are encouraging their children to pursue the sport. It has been a great upward curve since Paris 2024.”
Looking ahead, she identified the ITTF World Championships in Doha this May as her next big challenge, with an eye on the Asian Games in Japan next year. “I’m preparing for the World Championship and want to do well in it.”
Currently ranked 28th in the world, Sreeja is determined to maintain her top-30 position leading up to the Asian Games. “Reaching the top 30 is one thing, but maintaining that spot is even more difficult,” she said. “I’m taking it one step at a time—first the World Championship, and ultimately, the Asian Games in Japan.”
Sreeja Akula will be participating in the Women’s Singles and will be pairing up with Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Swastika Ghosh in the Mixed and Women’s Doubles at the WTT Star Contender Chennai 2025.
In India, the tournament will be available on the WTT’s YouTube Channel.