Rising stars Diya Chitale and Manush Shah make history as India's first pair to qualify for World Table Tennis finals
The pair shares their journey from underdogs to the world's top 8, with a common goal set on the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
A couple of years ago, two juniors were gradually finding their feet among the top paddlers of the country. Diya Chitale and Manush Shah were part of the national camp, though lower down the pecking order in terms of opportunities and experience.
Chitale was just out of her teens, Shah a couple of years older. Both were looking for a partner in the mixed doubles.
“Everybody above us was already paired. I’m a left-handed player and since there aren’t too many in India, it’s not easy to play alongside one. But Diya was open to the idea, so that’s how it all started," Shah, 24, recalls.
They realised something had clicked when they made the quarterfinal at their first tournament in Muscat in October 2023. Six months later, they had broken into the top 40 of the world. And this month, they became the first Indians to qualify for the season-ending WTT Finals—it features the top-7 mixed doubles pairs of the world and one wild card from the host nation—that will be played in Hong Kong in December.
“We are a young pair and have a long way to go. But this year, we’ve managed some good wins against the Japanese and Koreans, which has done wonders for our confidence. The WTT Finals promises high-quality matches, a lot of exposure that will help us prepare for future tournaments," Chitale, 22, says.
“At the start of the year, the goal was to simply enter the top 10 of the world. And to get there has been really encouraging," Shah says.
Ever since they joined forces, the duo has worked across geographies to arrive at a style of play that complements the other and has taken them to World No.8. Shah shuttles between his hometown of Vadodara and the Czech Republic where he plays for a local club, while Chitale trains at her base in Mumbai. National camps bring them together, as do local and international tournaments. It is where they pull out time to train, just like they did for a few days earlier this month in between competitions in Chennai.
“Table tennis is unlike badminton or tennis where there are doubles specialists—everyone plays everything, so we work on individual skills with our respective coaches and try to squeeze in time for mixed doubles practice during tournaments, even if we have matches coming up," Chitale says.
“Most games from the bigger competitions are uploaded on YouTube, so we reflect on these matches, discuss strategies with our personal coaches, besides the national coach, Massimo Costantini, and figure out the things we need to work on," Shah says.
Through most of 2024, Shah remembers entering tournaments as the underdog. Two quarterfinal appearances at Star Contender tournaments in Goa and Bangkok, and three semifinals in the Contenders in Lagos, Tunis, and Muscat made them the highest-ranked Indian pair at World No.14 by the end of the year.
They continued their good run in 2025, making three quarterfinals in January, followed by the Star Contender semi-final in Chennai. The familiarity and understanding set them up for their biggest tournament win, the WTT Contender Tunis in Tunisia, where they beat more experienced pairs such as G. Sathiyan-Sreeja Akula and the higher-ranked Japanese, Sora Matsushima and Miwa Harimoto.
“We had lost to the Japanese in three sets earlier in the year in Doha where we had managed to make just 15 points. So, we had to arrive at a strategy that would give us a realistic chance to win against them," Shah says.
“Even when things weren’t working, we backed each other and fought until the end. It’s one of the best matches we’ve played this year," Chitale adds.
They made another deep run in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, in August where they lost a close match to another Japanese pair. But along the way, they became the first Indians to make the final of a Star Contender event.
“We played two players who are good at defending, a very different combination and one that we hadn’t experienced before. It was a learning experience for us," Chitale says.
“Though we had some good wins through the year, we could only get as far as the quarterfinals and semi-finals of multiple tournaments. Breaking that barrier by reaching the final in Tunisia and Brazil did wonders for our confidence," she says.
Of the five teams that have qualified for the WTT Finals so far (as of 17 November), four pairs feature a left-right combination. Chitale believes it gives them an edge over competition.
“A lefty in the doubles has a big advantage because it is their natural serving or receiving position. You can also cover the table better. The angles created are very different when you have a lefty and righty playing together," Chitale says.
With no real off season in table tennis, the two have had a packed schedule this year. Shah has had an exceptional run in the men’s doubles as well, making the finals of two tournaments alongside his partner, Manav Thakkar, to climb to World No. 7. Chitale has been playing with Yashaswini Ghorpade, ranked 33rd in the world. Managing the workload of playing the singles, doubles and mixed doubles has required careful planning and preparation, both physically and mentally.
“The schedule can get really crazy and there are days you need to be ready to play three matches. What is equally important is to be able to get out of one match and focus on preparing for the next one, irrespective of the result. It has been a continuous process of improvement at an individual level, while getting to know each other and what style of play suits the other," Chitale says.
The focus is on the Asian Games next year. And to target the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, where a mixed team event is being introduced for the first time.
“We are working towards a common goal each day. I feel like this is the beginning of something really good for Indian table tennis," Shah says.
Shail Desai is a Mumbai-based freelance writer.
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