Manush Shah and Manav Thakkar suffer consecutive defeats ahead of 2026 Asian Games

India's top table tennis players, Manush Shah and Manav Thakkar, have endured a disappointing run at WTT events in September 2026, just weeks before the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Though both are confirmed members of the Indian contingent, their sliding singles form raises questions about medal prospects. At WTT Champions Macao, Manush lost 0-3 to Sweden's Anton Kallberg (10-12, 5-11, 6-11), following a similar defeat to Russia's Denis Ivonin at WTT Contender Almaty. Manav fell 1-3 to sixth seed Alexis Lebrun (France) with scores 12-14, 4-11, 11-9, 3-11, after earlier losing to Japan's Harimoto Tomokazu at the Europe Smash. Their struggles highlight a gap between singles and doubles performance: they are world No.3 in men's doubles but repeatedly exit early in singles. Close first-game losses (10-12, 12-14) suggest they can compete at a high level but lack consistency. However, the opponents are elite—Kallberg, Lebrun, Harimoto—so early exits are not catastrophic. With the Asian Games in Japan approaching, the Indian squad still trusts the duo. Their doubles synergy remains a medal hope, but singles improvement is urgently needed.