Indian men's team settles for bronze at Asian Table Tennis Championships 2023
Indian men's table tennis team ended its campaign with a bronze medal after going down 0-3 to Chinese Taipei in the semifinals of the Asian Table Tennis Championships.
Indian men's table tennis team.
India settled for a bronze medal in the men's team event at the 26th ITTF-Asian Table Tennis Championships 2023 in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The Indian men's team lost 0-3 to Chinese Taipei in the semifinals on Wednesday.
Playing the first match, veteran Achanta Sharath Kamal lost 6-11, 6-11, 9-11 against world no. 25 Chuang Chih-Yuan.
In the second match of the tie, G Sathiyan suffered a 0-3 loss (5-11, 6-11, 10-12) against Lin Yun-Ju as India went down 0-2.
Only Harmeet Desai, India's highest-ranked men's singles player at 61, could take a game off against Kao Cheng-Jui but lost 6-11, 7-11, 11-7, 9-11.
This medal ahead of the Asian Games, which begin on September 23rd, will boost the men's team's confidence.
On Monday, the men's team assured itself of a bronze medal by defeating Singapore 3-0 in the quarterfinals.
The opening singles match between Sharath Kamal and Izaac Quek was a closely fought battle, with the 41-year-old Indian ultimately winning 11-1, 10-12, 11-8, 11-13, 14-12.
The G Sathiyan then defeated Yew En Koen Pang 11-6, 11-8, 12-10 to give India a 2-0 lead in the last eight clash.
Harmeet then sealed the tie by outplaying Zhe Yu Clarence Chew 11-9, 11-4, 11-6.
The women's team, however, lost 0-3 in the quarterfinals against Japan.