Seventeen-year-old table tennis talent Stuti Kashyap of Antigua and Barbuda has delivered a historic standout performance at the 2026 WTT Youth Contender in Cuenca, Ecuador, walking away with a medal in every single one of the three events she entered. The rising young star claimed gold in the Under-19 Mixed Doubles discipline, silver in the Under-17 Girls’ Singles, and bronze in the Under-19 Girls’ Singles, capping off an exceptionally consistent run of play against elite international youth opposition.
Kashyap’s career-defining gold medal run came alongside her mixed doubles partner Eshaan Nayak of India. The unseeded pairing saved their most dominant form for the tournament’s final match, upsetting the top-seeded duo of Mandy Yu (United States) and Ivan Santino Pastore Acosta (Paraguay) in a straight-games victory. The pair closed out the win with set scores of 11–7, 12–10, and 13–11, securing the tournament’s top spot on the mixed doubles podium.
In the Under-17 Girls’ Singles draw, Kashyap put together a series of impressive wins to reach the final. She swept host nation competitor Karolayn Maldonado 3–0 in the quarterfinals, then defeated America’s Abigail Yu 3–1 in a tightly contested semifinal to set up a title match against Mandy Yu. Kashyap claimed the first game 11–8, before Mandy Yu fought back to take the second 13–11 and the match 3–1, earning Kashyap a well-deserved silver medal.
Stepping up to compete against older opponents in the Under-19 Girls’ Singles event, Kashyap continued her strong form. She won both of her opening group stage matches 3–0 to advance to the semifinal round, where she once again met Mandy Yu. Though she fell 0–3 to her opponent, the result was enough to secure Kashyap a bronze medal, completing her clean sweep of podium finishes across all three entered events.
This outstanding result comes just weeks after a challenging outing for Kashyap at the Central American and Caribbean Games hosted in the Dominican Republic. At that tournament, extreme heat and unideal playing conditions severely disrupted her singles competition, leaving the young athlete with a disappointing early exit. Rather than letting that setback derail her training and momentum, Kashyap refocused and rebounded to turn in one of the most complete performances of her young career in Cuenca.
Charles Bellot, president of the Antigua and Barbuda Table Tennis Association (ABTTA), praised Kashyap’s achievement and mental resilience in the face of recent adversity. “Three events and three medals at this elite international level is an exceptional achievement,” Bellot shared in a statement after the tournament. “We are particularly pleased with the way Stuti responded after what was a very difficult experience at the CAC Games. Young athletes will always encounter difficult moments in sport; what matters most is how they bounce back. Stuti went back to training, put in the work, returned to international competition, and answered with a gold, a silver and a bronze.”
Bellot added that the significance of Kashyap’s performance extends far beyond the three medals she earned. “What impresses us most is the consistency she showed. Stuti didn’t just pull off one standout result in a single event—she reached the podium in two different singles draws, then took home the mixed doubles title. She competed successfully against top-quality international opponents, and proved she can deliver strong results across multiple events and even against older competitors in higher age groups.”
For her part, Kashyap highlighted the mixed doubles gold as the highlight of her tournament run, saying she feels immense pride at leaving Cuenca with medals in every event she entered. She also extended public thanks to the Antigua and Barbuda National Olympic Committee (ABNOC) for their ongoing support of her career, a backing that the ABTTA echoed as critical to the young athlete’s ongoing access to the international competition experience she needs to develop as a player.
For Kashyap, the three-medal haul in Cuenca marks another key milestone in a long-term journey toward competing at the highest levels of international table tennis. Her current career goals include earning a spot at the upcoming Youth Olympic Games, and ultimately securing qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
For Antigua and Barbuda’s table tennis community, the message from Cuenca is already clear: Stuti Kashyap has emerged as a legitimate rising talent on the global youth stage, with a performance that cements the country’s growing presence in international table tennis. Three events, three podiums, one gold, one silver, one bronze—one career-defining performance for one of the Caribbean’s most exciting young sports prospects.