Samuel Walker shocks Ankur Bhattacharjee at WTT Feeder Chennai

Samuel Walker beat India’s Ankur Bhattacharjee at the WTT Feeder Chennai at the Tamil Nadu Physical Education and Sports University on Saturday. The 31-year-old Englishman, ranked 159 in the world, recorded the upset over the world No. 73 and tournament second seed.

Walker’s German Bundesliga commitments and his recent wedding to Monica Barbosa limited his WTT schedule this season, and he has played in just seven WTT tournaments so far. His best result this year came at the WTT Feeder Lagos in May, where he reached the quarterfinals.

Against an in-form youngster, Walker produced a nerveless performance, matching Ankur’s aggression to pull off a massive upset.

“I’ve got the experience, especially playing against Indians. Since I started, I’ve been playing against (Sharath) Kamal and G. Sathiyan all through my career. I believed in myself that I could win,” said Walker, who has competed in three Commonwealth Games (2014, 2018 and 2022), winning medals in the team events at all three and was a bronze medallist with England at the 2016 World team championships.

Walker credited his time in Germany with shaping his approach to the sport, noting how early and sustained exposure there influenced his development after moving from England at 16. He lived in Germany until he was 24 and still plays in Germany now (for club Grenzau): “It’s been a massive help in my career. Without Germany and the system that they have, there’s no way I would have made the successes that I have done in my career.”

Walker said his limited match play had affected recent form and expressed hope the Chennai win would create opportunities. “I think what I’ve struggled with in the last few months is probably not playing enough matches. Obviously, I came here not worrying too much about the outcome but with the intention of just trying to play as many matches as possible and focus on my performance,” he said.