At the Table Tennis World Championships in Doha, India experienced a mix of disappointment and triumph. Sreeja Akula, India's number one player, suffered an early exit in the first round of the women's singles, but the nation found success in the doubles events.
Akula's defeat came against Thailand's Suthasini Sawettabut, the world number 84. Akula started strong, winning the first game, but she couldn't maintain her momentum. She lost the next four games due to numerous unforced errors, concluding the match in just 33 minutes. The final score was 1-4 in favor of Sawettabut.
Despite Akula's exit, there were bright spots for India in the doubles competitions. The Mukherjee sisters, Ayhika and Sutirtha, who are also Asian Games medalists, defeated the Turkish team of Ozge Yilmaz and Ece Harac in a thrilling five-game match. This victory ended a six-match losing streak for the Indian pair and secured their advancement to the next round of the ITTF World Championships.
Diya Chitale and Yashaswini Ghodpade also advanced to the second round in the women's doubles. They overcame a first-game loss to beat the Uzbekistan duo of Magdieva and Erkebaeva 3-1. After a close loss in the first game, they rallied to win the following three, ensuring their place in the next stage of the competition.
In the men's doubles, Manav Thakkar and Manush Shah continued their strong performance this season with a straight-game victory over the Slovenian team of Deni Kozul and Peter Hribar. They won 3-0.
Earlier in the year, both Manika Batra and Sreeja Akula had their campaigns cut short at the ITTF World Cup 2025, failing to progress past the group stage. Batra lost to Brazil's Bruna Takahashi, while Akula was defeated by Romania's Bernadette Szőcs. The men's and women's players were divided into 16 groups, with only the winner of each group advancing to the knockout stage.