Manush Shah and Manav Thakkar suffer defeats at WTT Champions Macao 2026 ahead of Asian Games

India's top table tennis players, Manush Shah and Manav Thakkar, have had disappointing performances at the WTT Champions Macao 2026 held in September 2026. According to collected data, Manush lost 0-3 to Anton Kallberg (Sweden) with set scores of 10-12, 5-11, 6-11. Meanwhile, Manav Thakkar lost to Alexis Lebrun (France, seeded 6th) with a score of 1-3, sets 12-14, 4-11, 11-9, 3-11. This is Manush's second consecutive loss on the international stage after he was also defeated by Denis Ivonin (Russia) at the WTT Contender Almaty 2026. Manav also suffered a loss to Harimoto Tomokazu (Japan) at the previous 'Europe Smash' event. This event takes place just weeks before the Indian table tennis team departs for the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya. Both players are already on the team roster. Despite poor singles results, the pair of Manush Shah and Manav Thakkar is currently ranked world No. 3 in men's doubles. The contrast between singles and doubles form is a notable signal. Their losses can be partly explained by the high quality of opponents: Lebrun is the No. 6 seed, Harimoto is a top Japanese player, and Kallberg represents a strong Swedish program. However, consecutive first-round exits at WTT Champions events may raise concerns about their competitiveness in singles at the Asian Games. Currently, no specific world ranking points for the two players are available. According to preliminary analysis, early losses at WTT Champions will not yield significant ranking points. However, since the Indian team has already finalized the Asian Games roster, these defeats are unlikely to change personnel decisions. Experts suggest that Manush and Manav may be focusing more on the men's doubles event, where they are successful, rather than singles. This raises questions about the Indian team's preparation strategy for the 2026 Asian Games.