Vadodara, Feb 25 (PTI) A total of 165 Indian players will compete alongside paddlers from eight countries in the WTT Youth Contender Vadodara beginning here on Wednesday.

The Indian challenge will be spearheaded by world No. 7 Ankur Bhattacharjee, Sayali Wani, and upcoming table tennis player Divyanshi Bhowmick, among others.

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On the opening day, matches will be held in the U-17 and U-13 boys' and girls' sections.

Bhowmick and Abhinand Prathivadi will start favourites in the two categories. The other top Indians in the fray are Syndrela Das, Taneesha Kotecha, and Sarthak Arya.

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The Indians will face competition from players like Choi Jiwook (WR 13 – Korea), Rohan Dani (England), and Taavi Samaraveera (Sri Lanka), who will be competing in their respective categories.

India's foreign expert for table tennis Massimo Constantini said he was confident of a good show from the home-country paddlers.

"India is deploying its best players at home, and as part of the Indian contingent, our goal is to win everything at this historic event. The intention is to showcase our best abilities at the first-ever WTT Youth Contender in India.

"The potential of Indian players in the junior and youth categories will be on full display, and I wish all the players the best of luck in setting the tone for future events in India," said Constantini.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)