CWG 2022: Indian women’s table tennis team lose 2-3 to Malaysia in thrilling contest 

In a battle of wits at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2022, India’s Reeth Tennison couldn’t prevail over her Malaysian rival Ying Ho and lost 2-3. As a result, India lost their women’s table tennis team event quarterfinal late on Saturday evening. India lost 2-3 to bow out of the competition.

It was a challenging situation for India as they had to dig deep into their reserves to stay on course for a medal. It was a slow start for India as they lost the opening doubles to Malaysia. Despite winning the first and second singles, the Indian team lost their third and fourth singles to bow out of the competition.

The final singles event stretched to five games. Reeth and Ying were in no mood to give up, but the former went ahead in the first game (12-10). Both players fought tooth and nail in the second game, with Reeth taking a 5-4 lead. But in the end, the Malaysian won 11-8, to bounce back in the competition.

The Malaysian player took the lead in the third game 4-2, but this time Reeth sealed it with a 11-6 win. The fourth game was also close. However, Ying had a narrow 9-8 lead at a crucial juncture in the thrilling contest and pocketed the game 11-9 to level the score at 2-2.

There was a tense moment in the decider as Reeth gradually lost grip over the contest. The Malaysian shot into a 6-3 lead. The Indian player played a catching game but Ying smartly took control and won 11-8 to give Malaysia a place in the semifinals of the team event.

CWG 2022: Other matches in India vs Malaysia tie

In the opening doubles of this CWG women's team event quarter-final, Malaysia beat India 3-1 (11-7, 11-6, 5-11, 11-6). Manika Batra beat Ying Ho 3-2 (11-8, 11-5, 8-11, 9-11, 11-3) in the first singles to enable India to bounce back in the contest.

In the second singles, Sreeja Akula beat Li Sian Alice Chang 3-0 (11-6, 11-6, 11-9) to consolidate the lead.

But in the third singles, Manika couldn’t focus and lost to Karen Lyne 0-3 (6-11, 3-11, 9-11), which made it difficult for India to recover the lost ground in the decider.

Earlier, India beat minnows Guyana 3-0. In the opening doubles, Sreeja Akula and Reeth Tennison defeated Natalie Cummings and Chelsea Edghill 3-0 (11-5, 11-7, 11-7). In the first singles, Manika Batra got the better of Thuraia Thomas 3-0 (11-1, 11-3, 11-3).

In the second singles, Reeth Tennison was stretched by Guyana’s Chelsea Edghill, but the Indian eventually won 3-0 (11-7, 14-12, 13-11). However, their journey as a team in the CWG 2022 came to an end later.