The Indian men's table tennis team, comprising of Achanta Sharath Kamal, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, and Harmeet Desai, gained a dominating one-sided win over their opponents on the first day of the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022.
In the men’s team event, defending champions India started off with a 3-0 win against Barbados and Singapore.
Harmeet Desai and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran won the match against Shao Feng Ethan Poh and Clarence Chew Zhe Yu to give India a 1-0 lead in their men's team tie. The Indian duo won the match 11-5, 11-5, 9-11, 11-2.
Sharath Kamal, up against Pang Yew En Koen, was trailing initially. The 40-year-old put his experience to work in what was a nail-biting three-setter. Sharath, despite being in danger at one point, recouped to pull off a 11-8, 11-9, 11-9 thriller to hand India a 2-0 lead against Singapore.
In the third tie, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran overwhelmed Clarence Chew 11-7, 11-5, 11-8, and India beat Singapore 3-0 in their Group 3 clash.
Earlier, the men's team vanquished Barbados 3-0 in the first round match of the men's team event at the Commonwealth Games 2022 (CWG 2022).
Harmeet Desai and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran defeated Kevin Farley and Tyrese Knight 11-9, 11-9, 11-4 in the first doubles tie. Later, experienced Indian paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal got the better of Ramon Maxwell to win in straight sets 11-5, 11-3, 11-3 in the second tie.
Later, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran came in to wrap up the match. The 29-year-old humbled Tyrese Knight 11-4, 11-4, 11-5 as the Indian team swept the match 3-0.
CWG 2022: Indian men's table tennis team's upcoming fixtures
The Indian men's table tennis team, after a brilliant first-day performance, will next take on Northern Ireland in their next clash.
Date: July 30, Time: 4:00 PM (approx) (IST)
CWG 2022: Indian Table Tennis squad
India fielded a 10-member table tennis team, that will be in action at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Men: Sharath Kamal, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, Harmeet Desai, Sanil Shetty, Manush Shah (Reserve)
Women: Manika Batra, Sreeja Akula, Reeth Rishya, Diya Chitale, Swastika Ghosh (Reserve)
Also read: CWG 2022: Indian women’s table tennis team beat Fiji 3-0 and top Group 2