Payas Jain, Suhana Saini win bronze medals at World Youth Championships

Indian table tennis players Payas Jain and Suhana Saini won bronze medals at the ITTF World Youth Championships in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal.

Payas Jain lost to Chinese paddler Peng Xiang 1-4 in the semi-finals of the U-19 category while Suhana Saini went down to top-seeded Egyptian Hana Goda 1-4 in the U-15 category.

Suhana Saini became the only Indian table tennis player to win three medals from the Worlds.

Payas Jain had beat Iran’s Naved Shams in the quarter-finals to ensure at least a bronze medal. The world No. 3 and seeded fourth, Payas Jain downed his rival 11-9, 11-8, 11-8, 8-11, 11-4 for the semi-final showdown against Chinese paddler Peng Xiang, the winner of the title in 2019.

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However, the Indian table tennis player could not reproduce his form in the semi-finals and lost to the Chinese 1-4 (4-11, 12-10, 4-11, 2-11, 1-11) in less than 30 minutes.

Payas Jain outplayed in the semi-finals

The reigning world champion, who executed forehand and backhand shots with equal felicity, was on song against the Indian paddler. Payas was kept wanting on several occasions as he failed to come to terms with his opponent’s onslaughts.

It was only in the second game when Payas Jain managed to seize the moment to win the game on extended points, but, soon Peng was all over with his attacking shots.

The last two games he won exemplified the complete control he had.

It only added to the pressure on Payas Jain that he could not come out of the cocoon built around him by the Chinese onslaught.

Earlier in the quarter-finals, Payas Jain was on the money against his Iranian opponent, breezing through to a 3-0 lead. However, Naved came back strong in the next to pull one down. Yet, Payas was up to the task in the fifth and completed it to romp home as the winner.

Suhana Saini enters record books

Indian paddler Suhana Saini achieved the rare feat of becoming the only Indian to win three medals from the Worlds.

Suhana, however, had to remain contented with a bronze medal after going down to the top-seeded Egyptian Hana Goda 1-4 (10-12, 11-9, 3-11, 3-11, 8-11) in the semi-finals on Wednesday.

In the opening game, Suhana managed to deuce but her Egyptian opponent scored the vital two points to go 1-0 up.

In the second, however, the Indian player took a six-point lead at a time to return to form. But in the third, Hana benefited from Suhana’s blemishes to build her lead, taking seven consecutive points.

There was no respite in the fourth as Hana went from strength to strength to take an unassailable lead, forcing an inevitable win in the next.