WTT Star Contender Doha: Indian paddlers Sutirtha, Ahyika off to winning start

While the World No. 95 Sutirtha registered a dominating 11-9, 11-3, 11-6 victory over her opponent Ala Mohamed from Qatar, World No. 131 Ahyika notched up an easy 11-8, 11-3, 11-5 win over Qatar's Maha Faramarzi.

Doha: Indian paddlers Sutirtha Mukherjee and Ahyika Mukherjee kicked off their campaign at World Table Tennis (WTT) Star Contender Doha with easy victories in women's singles qualifying round one on Saturday.

While the World No. 95 Sutirtha registered a dominating 11-9, 11-3, 11-6 victory over her opponent Ala Mohamed from Qatar, World No. 131 Ahyika notched up an easy 11-8, 11-3, 11-5 win over Qatar's Maha Faramarzi. With these wins, both the players moved into the second qualifying round of the tournament.

Meanwhile, bronze medallist at the recently concluded National Championship Sreeja Akula went down fighting in a 5-gamer against Japan's Sakura Yokoi. She was seen trailing by 2-1 before making a strong comeback to make it 2-2. However, Akula couldn't sustain the momentum and lost the match 12-10, 7-11, 7-11, 11-9, 6-11.