Asian TT C'ships: Sutirtha-Ayhika win bronze, India end campaign with three medals

Sutirtha Mukherjee and Ayhika Mukherjee's impressive run at the Asian Table Tennis Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan, came to an end in the semifinals on Sunday.

The World No. 15 Indian pair lost to lower-ranked Miwa Harimoto and Miyu Khirra in straight games (4-11, 9-11, 8-11) in 30 minutes.

Due to this defeat, Sutirtha and Ayhika have to settle for the bronze medal, India's first medal in women's doubles.

In the first game, World No. 33 Miwa and Harimoto made a brisk start by not allowing their Indian counterparts much chance to score points. Miyuu and Miwa opted for big smashes to test the Indian paddlers' defence.

As the Indians failed to cut down their errors, the Japanese duo prevailed in the opening game.

In the second game, Sutirtha and Ayhika broke into a 4-1 lead but could not hold the Japanese from drawing level at 7-7 and then taking the lead. They eventually won the second game 11-9.

With Sutirtha's backhand return finding the net more often, and Miyuu's flat smashes piercing through Ayhika's defence, the Indians could not stop the forward march of Miwa and Miyuu in the third game. Sutirtha and Ayhika eventually lost in straight games.

On Saturday, Ayhika and Sutirtha defeated Kim Nayeong and Lee Eunhye of Korea 3-1 (10-12, 11-7, 11-9, 11-8) in the quarterfinals to confirm India's first-ever medal in women's doubles in the tournament's 52 years history.

With the women's doubles pairing's exit, India's campaign in the Asian Championships ended.

Earlier, Ayhika dazzled in the team event as the Indian team, also featuring Manika Batra and Sutirtha, won a bronze medal for the first time in the women's team event, even though they lost to Japan 1-3 in the semifinal.

In the men's category, the Indian team of Achanta Sharath Kamal, Manav Thakkar, and Harmeet Desai won the country's third straight bronze medal after they went down 0-3 to Chinese Taipei in the semifinals.

In men's singles, Manav Thakkar and Manush Shah bowed out in the pre-quarterfinals. Manika Batra, in women's singles, also bowed out in the pre-quarterfinals.