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Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee confirmed India’s first medal in Table Tennis at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games on Saturday. The World No.16 Indian pair stunned the second-ranked Cheng Meng and Wang Yidi of China in the quarterfinals of the women’s doubles category.
This win lit up what had been an otherwise disappointing day for India in the sport. Both the country's men's doubles pair as well as their leading singles player Manika Batra lost in the quarterfinal stage.
The WTT Contender Tunis champions dominated against the Chinese pair and won the contest with a scoreline of 11-5, 11-5, 5-11, 11-9 to cement their spot in the semi-final. The home crowd was stunned as the top-seeded pair from the host country got knocked out in the mega event.
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There was a bit of fightback from the Chinese when they won the third set with 11-5, but Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee didn’t let the match get away. They closed the match by winning the fifth set 11-9.
With this performance, the Kolkata-based paddlers made history as they became the first Indian women’s doubles pair to enter the semi-finals of the Asian Games.
Fans were delighted with this win and quickly jumped to X, formerly called Twitter, to shower praise on the Indian duo. Here are some of the best reactions:
Ayhika Mukherjee, Sutirtha Mukherjee last contenders for India in Table Tennis event at Asian Games 2023
The pair of Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee are the lone competitors left from the Indian contingent in the Table Tennis event of the Asian Games 2023. Despite the fight shown by the remaining players, no one could progress further against heavy opponents like China, Chinese Taipei, and South Korea.
The Indian women's doubles pair has a fantastic opportunity to become the first Table Tennis players from their country to feature in an Asian Games final.
During the previous edition in Jakarta in 2018, the Indian men's team and the mixed doubles duo of Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra returned with bronze medals. It was the first time India finished on the podium in Table Tennis at the Asian Games.
