Indian pairs storm into semifinals at WTT Contender Lagos

India’s doubles surge in Lagos reached the semifinal stage with three pairs still alive at WTT Contender Lagos, leaving Ayhika and Sutirtha Mukherjee, Diya Chitale and Yashaswini Ghorpade, and Diya Chitale and Manush Shah two wins from a title at the Sir Molade Okoya Thomas Indoor Sports Hall.

The results gave India a rare showcase of depth across both women’s doubles and mixed doubles at a stop that carries real weight on the WTT Contender Series calendar. The tournament, which runs from May 19 to May 24 in Lagos, has drawn more than 120 players from roughly 20 to 23 countries and offers a $100,000 prize purse along with 400 ITTF world-ranking points.

Ayhika Mukherjee’s run stood out not only because she and Sutirtha Mukherjee moved into the last four, but because it came during a period when her profile has been rising on the international circuit. Mukherjee was ranked 93 in week 18 of 2026, with a career-best mark of 67, a reminder that India’s doubles success is being driven by players with proven international pedigree as well as momentum.

Diya Chitale was at the center of two separate semifinal pushes. She and Yashaswini Ghorpade advanced in women’s doubles, building on the partnership’s strong 2025 season that included a run to the round of 16 at the World Table Tennis Championships in Doha. Chitale also teamed with Manush Shah in mixed doubles, extending a partnership that has already delivered a milestone after the pair won their maiden WTT Contender mixed doubles title in Tunis in May 2025.

For India, the significance went beyond one successful day. Having three combinations in the semifinals pointed to a broader national strength in doubles play, where the country is increasingly producing pairs that can contend on different continents and in different formats. Lagos has become an important proving ground for that kind of depth, with organizers again leaning on the event’s reputation for strong crowds, hospitality and elite international competition.

Nigeria Table Tennis Federation officials and the Local Organizing Committee have framed the tournament as another marker of the country’s growing role in world sport. Adesoji Tayo, the local organizing committee chairman, said Lagos was ready to deliver an unforgettable experience and that the event underscored Nigeria’s expanding influence on the global sporting stage. The semifinal rounds now offer India a clear chance to turn that breadth into silverware.