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

India’s top table tennis players Manush Shah and Manav Thakkar suffered disappointing early exits at the WTT Champions Macao in September 2026, raising form concerns just ahead of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Manush Shah lost 0-3 (10-12, 5-11, 6-11) to Sweden’s Anton Kallberg. The match showed a promising start as Manush nearly won the first game, but he lost focus and fell apart in the next two games. Earlier, Manush also lost to Russia’s Denis Ivonin at the WTT Contender Almaty. Manav Thakkar faced sixth seed Alexis Lebrun of France and lost 1-3 (12-14, 4-11, 11-9, 3-11). The only bright spot was a close third-game win, showing temporary tactical adaptation. However, he failed to sustain the level and lost the deciding game 3-11. This marked his second consecutive early singles exit at high-level WTT events, after a loss to Harimoto Tomokazu at the Europe Smash. Despite poor singles form, Manush Shah and Manav Thakkar remain India’s biggest hope in men’s doubles. The pair is currently ranked world No. 3 and has already been confirmed for the Asian Games squad. The coaching staff is likely to emphasize their doubles strength rather than singles expectations. These early losses serve as a warning but not a disaster, given the high quality of their opponents. To compete for medals at the Asian Games, Manush and Manav need to improve conversion in close games and maintain consistency throughout tournaments.