Sathiyan takes home the first WTT Feeder championship
Pro paddler Sathiyan Gnanasekaran won the men’s singles trophy in the WTT Feeder Series tournament in Beirut, Lebanon, making history as the first Indian to do so. On the last day of WTT Feeder Beirut 2024 on Thursday night, he beat fellow countryman Manav Thakkar 3-1 (6-11 11-7 11-7 11-4).
No. 11 seed Gnanasekaran had a fruitful journey to the Lebanese capital, defeating top seed Chuang Chih-Yuan (11-8 11-13 11-8 11-9) and No. 5 seed Harmeet Desai (15-13 6-11 11-8 13-11) along route. The final, however, is the one that Gnanasekaran will remember the most since he recovered an early deficit to defeat No. 9 seed Thakkar in four games.
Since the ITTF Czech International Open 2021, this is Gnanasekaran’s first international ranking event singles victory and his first men’s singles triumph at a WTT tournament. In the meanwhile, Xia Lian Ni won her second WTT Feeder championship in the women’s singles division after putting up a strong performance to overcome Suh Hyo Won’s defensive wall 11-9 11-5 11-5.
