Indian men’s team in semis, assured of a medal

PYEONGCHANG (South Korea): The Indian men’s team advanced to the semifinals of the Asian Table Tennis Championships, assuring themselves of a medal, while the women’s team crashed out in the quarterfinals, here on Monday.

The third-seeded men’s team of Achanta Sharath Kamal, Harmeet Desai, and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, clinched a 3-0 victory over Singapore, securing their place in the semifinals.

Sealing a spot in the last four guarantees a medal for the men’s team in the continental championships, as both teams that lose in the semifinals receive bronze medals in the competition.

The Indian men’s team will face Chinese Taipei on Wednesday for a place in the final. In the men’s team quar-terfinals, ace paddler Sharath delivered an exhilarating performance by defeating Singapore’s Izaac Quek 3-2 in a thrilling contest, giving India the initial advantage.

Sathiyan then continued India’s momentum with a dominant 3-0 victory over Pang Yew En Koen. Harmeet sealed the victory for India with a 3-0 scoreline over Clarence Chew Zhe Yu.

Meanwhile, the women’s team of Manika Batra, Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee were knocked out following a 0-3 loss to Japan in their last-eight encounter. In the first match, Ayhika Mukherjee lost the opening tie to Mima Ito with a score of 0-3. Manika encountered Hina Hayata and suffered a 1-3 defeat, while Sutirtha faced Miu Hirano and also lost with a 1-3 score. The trio will now compete in the classification match for positions 5 to 8, scheduled for Tuesday.

India’s mixed doubles pair of Manika Batra and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran will be in action on Tuesday. The In-dian duo, after receiving a bye in the round of 64, will face the Thai pair of Sanguansin Phakpoom and Paranang Orawan in the round of 32. The winners of the men’s and women’s team events as well as the mixed doubles com-petition will each secure a place for next year’s Summer Olympic Games in Paris. (IANS)

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