By Victor Kanayo
2025 African Cup champion Omar Assar of Egypt began his campaign at the WTT Star Contender Chennai with a convincing victory in the first round of the Men’s Singles at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in India.
Assar, the No. 5 seed in the Men’s Singles, received a bye to the second round (round of 32) and showcased his best against Hong Kong’s Kwan Man Ho.
Despite losing the first game 4-11, the Egyptian dug deep to win the next three games 11-7, 11-3, 12-10, progressing to the third round (last 16), where he will face the winner between South Korea’s Oh Junsung and Hong Kong’s Chan Baldwin on Saturday, 29 March.
However, it was not a good outing for Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna, the No. 4 seed, who was stunned by Chinese Taipei’s rising star Feng Yi-Hsin (13-11, 11-8, 11-8) in the second round.
The 22-year-old curtailed Aruna in their maiden encounter, recording his first win against the highest-ranked African in the world.
Elsewhere, 16-year-old Flavien Coton of France bagged an upset win, outlasting No. 9 seed Alvaro Robles of Spain across four games (11-1, 11-3, 6-11, 13-11).
The biggest shock in the Women’s Singles came at the expense of local hero Manika Batra, as the No. 9 seed succumbed to a round of 32 exit. Facing off against 21-year-old Huang Yu-Jie for the first time, it was the World No. 239 who stole the show, producing a magnificent display against Batra to send shockwaves across Chennai (11-7, 12-10, 7-11, 11-9).
