Asian Championships: India men’s table tennis team wins bronze, loses to Chinese Taipei in semis 

The Indian men’s table tennis team failed to go beyond the semis in the ongoing Asian Championships, which is taking place in Doha. The trio of G Sathiyan, Sharath Kamal and Harmeet Desai lost to Chinese Taipei as India finished with a bronze medal on Wednesday, September 6.

A lot was expected from Kamal and Sathiyan but both players flattered to deceive under pressure. Chuang Chih-Yuan, who is ranked 26th in the world, defeated Kamal 11-6, 11-9, 11-9. Sathiyan, on the other hand, lost 5-11, 6-11, 10-12 to World No. 7 Lin Yun-Ju.

With India trailing 0-2 in the semis, Harmeet gave it his all against Kao Cheng-Jui but eventually crumbled. The World No. 63 and the top-ranked Indian player in the competition, Harmeet lost the match 6-11, 7-11, 11-7, 9-11 to Cheng-Jui, who is ranked No. 33 in the world.

In the fourth set, the scoreline read 9-9 before Harmeet’s opponent held his nerve to emerge victorious. Earlier, the Indian team defeated Singapore in the quarterfinals and assured themselves a medal but looked out of sorts against Chinese Taipei.

Disappointment for India in women’s and mixed events

Previously, the Indian women’s and mixed teams also failed to advance in the tournament. The women’s team, comprising of Manika Batra, Ayhika Mukherjee, Diya Chitale and Sreeja Akula, lost to Thailand 0-3 to finish their campaign on a disappointing note.

Manika, Diya, and Akula lost to Orawan Paranang, Wanwisa Aueawiriyayothin and Suthasini Sawettabutt, respectively, without much of a fight.

In the mixed event, the team, consisting of Manika Batra, G Sathiyan, Sreeja Akula and Harmeet Desai, crashed out after losing to Thailand.

Sathiyan and Batra lost to Orawan Paranang and Phakpoom Sanguansin, respectively. Sreeja and Harmeet won their matches comprehensively against their Malaysian opponents but failed to carry the momentum into their contests against Thailand.