Manav Thakkar triumphs over World No. 33 at Asian Table Tennis Championships

In a compelling display of talent and decisiveness, young Indian table tennis prodigy Manav Thakkar etched an unforgettable win in the Asian Table Tennis Championships in Pyeongchang (South Korea) on Friday. The 23-year-old phenomenon assured his place in the men's singles pre-quarterfinals with a surprising 3-1 victory over World No. 33 Kao Cheng-Jui from South Korea.

It was a closely contested battle as he pocketed the first and third games with a scoreline of 11-8 and 11-7, respectively, while conceding the second game 8-11.

However, he showed his composure by nailing the fourth game 11-7 to close out the match and progress to the next round.

With a global ranking of 100, Manav Thakkar has a challenge on his hands as he squares off against the well-known Ma Long from China in the Round of 16.

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Ayhika goes down fighting at Asian Table Tennis Championships

With G Sathiyan and Sharath Kamal tasting failures in the Round of 32, a ray of hope arose from the 170th-ranked Ayhika Mukherjee. In women's singles, Ayhika faced off against the Olympic bronze medalist Chen Xingtong of China in the Round of 32.

The Indian player took a compelling 2-0 lead in the best-of-five match. Nevertheless, Chen Xingtong, ranked No. 4 in the world, made a superb comeback to claim a 2-11, 6-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-3 win.

In the men's doubles quarterfinals, Thakkar and his partner Manush Shah faced a tough challenge from the Chinese duo of Fan Zhendong and Lin Gaoyuan, eventually tumbling out with a scoreline of 5-11, 3-11, 5-11.

Likewise, in the women's doubles event, the Indian pair of Ayhika and Sutirtha Mukherjee was engaged in a brutal battle with the powerhouse Chinese duo of Wang Manyu and Chen Meng before succumbing to a 5-11, 11-13, 10-12 defeat in the quarterfinal stage.

Despite these challenges, the Indian men's table tennis team had earlier ensured a bronze medal in the team events, showing their collaborative capacities on the global stage.