ITTF World Table Tennis Championships 2023: How the Indian contingent fare at the tournament?

The Indian contingent at the ITTF World Table Tennis Championships 2023, held in Durban, South Africa, showcased their skills and determination but fell short of securing any medals in the tournament. A total of 11 Indian players, including renowned Olympians Sharath Kamal Achanta, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, and Manika Batra, represented the nation in various categories.

Sharath Kamal Achanta made a strong start in the men's singles event, defeating Austria's David Serdaroglu 4-1. However, in the round of 64, he faced a tough test against South Korean Lee Sang Su and was defeated in straight sets. Another prominent Indian player, G Sathiyan, fought hard against England's Tom Jarvis, eventually winning in a thrilling seven-set match. He was unable to advance further, however, as he was defeated in the round of 64 by Germany's Dang Qiu.

Manika Batra led the Indian charge in the women's singles category, securing a convincing round-of-128 victory over Algeria's Lynda Loghraibi. She extended her winning streak in the round of 64 by defeating Singapore's Xin Ru Wong. However, she was knocked out in the round of 32 by Adriana Diaz of Puerto Rico.

The Indian pairs demonstrated their abilities in the doubles competitions but were unable to advance past the round of 16. In the men's doubles event, Sharath Kamal Achanta and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran formed a formidable partnership, winning their first two matches against Egyptian and Danish opponents. They were defeated in a close match by England's Paul Drinkhall and Liam Pitchford.

Manika Batra and Archana Kamath competed in the women's doubles event, where they defeated American and Hungarian pairs in the preliminary rounds. Unfortunately, they were eliminated in the round of 16 by Japan's Hina Hayata and Mima Ito.

In the mixed doubles category, G Sathiyan and Manika Batra displayed great chemistry, securing victories against Luxembourg and Brazilian pairs. However, they were eliminated in the round of 16 by Sweden's Truls Moregard and Christina Kallberg.

Overall, while the Indian table tennis players displayed their talent and fought valiantly, they were unable to secure any medals at the ITTF World Table Tennis Championships 2023. Nonetheless, their participation in the tournament serves as a testament to the growing prominence of Indian table tennis on the global stage.

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World Table Tennis Championships 2023: Indian players' results

Men’s singles:

Round of 128

Manush Shah lost to Cho Seungmin (South Korea) 1-4

Sharath Kamal Achanta beat David Serdaroglu (Austria) 4-1

G Sathiyan beat Tom Jarvis (England) 4-3

Harmeet Desai lost to Tiago Apolonia (Portugal) 1-4

Round of 64

Sharath Kamal Achanta lost to Lee Sang Su (South Korea) 0-4

G Sathiyan lost to Dang Qiu (Germany) 0-4

Women’s singles:

Round of 128

Manika Batra beat Lynda Loghraibi (Algeria) 4-0

Sreeja Akula beat Nicole Arlia (Italy) 4-1

Sutirtha Mukherjee lost to Tatiana Kukulkova (Slovakia) 3-4

Reeth Tennison beat Hana Arapovic (Croatia) 4-2

Round of 64

Sreeja Akula lost to Ying Han (Germany) 0-4

Reeth Tennison lost to Nina Mittelham (Germany) 1-4

Manika Batra beat Xin Ru Wong (Singapore) 4-0

Round of 32

Manika Batra lost to Adriana Diaz (Puerto Rico) 3-4

Men’s doubles:

Round of 64

Sharath Kamal Achanta/G Sathiyan beat Mohamed El-Beiali/Mohamed Shouman (Egypt) 3-0

Harmeet Desai/Manush Shah beat Denis Zholudev/Sagantay Kurmambayev (Kazakhstan) 3-0

Round of 32

Sharath Kamal Achanta/G Sathiyan beat Anders Lind (Denmark)/Bence Majoros (Hungary) 3-0

Harmeet Desai/Manush Shah lost to Shunsuke Togami/Yukiya Uda (Japan) 0-3

Round of 16

Sharath Kamal Achanta/G Sathiyan lost to Paul Drinkhall/Liam Pitchford (England) 1-3

Women’s doubles:

Round of 64

Manika Batra/Archana Kamath beat Emily Quan/Yishiuan Lin (USA) 3-1

Sreeja Akula/Diya Chitale beat Gaia Monfardini/Nicole Arlia (Italy) 3-2

Round of 32

Manika Batra/Archana Kamath beat Dora Madarasz/Georgina Pota (Hungary) 3-0

Sreeja Akula/Diya Chitale lost to Yingsha Sun/Manyu Wang (China) 0-3

Round of 16

Manika Batra/Archana Kamath lost to Hina Hayata/Mima Ito (Japan) 0-3

Mixed doubles:

Round of 64

G Sathiyan/Manika Batra beat Xia Lian Ni/Luka Mladenovic (Luxembourg) 3-2

Manav Thakkar/Archana Kamath received a walkover from Daniel Gonzalez/Melanie Diaz (Puerto Rico) 3-0 (NA)

Round of 32

G Sathiyan/Manika Batra beat Eric Jouti/ Luca Kumahara (Brazil) 3-1

Manav Thakkar/Archana Kamath lost to Nikhil Kumar/Amy Wang (USA) 2-3

Round of 16

G Sathiyan/Manika Batra lost to Truls Moregard/Christina Kallberg (Sweden) 1-3

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