Indian Table Tennis Asian Games 2023 Results Day 1: Men’s team bow out in the quarter finals, women’s team knocked out too

After registering a thrilling 3-2 victory over Kazakhstan in the Round of 16, the Indian men’s table tennis team were tamed by 2018 Asian Games silver medalists South Korea. The Koreans beat the Indian paddlers 3-0 to secure their place in the semi-finals of the Asian Games.

The Indian women’s team went down to Thailand in a hard-fought battle in the Round of 16. After the scores were tied at 2-2, Suthasini Sawettabut of Thailand helped her team edge past the Indians by beating Manika Batra 3-1 (10-12, 11-8, 11-7, 11-6) in the decider.

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Indian men’s team results

The Round of 16 between India and Kazakhstan started with an intense showdown between Sharath Kamal and Kirill Gerassimenko. Despite putting up a valiant fight, Sharath Kamal ultimately succumbed to Gerassimenko with a scoreline of 8-11, 11-9, 6-11, 8-11.

The second match saw India’s Sathiyan Gnanasekaran in complete command as he comfortably dispatched Aidos Kenzhigulov with a score of 14-12, 11-8, 11-4, equalling the score of the tie.

Harmeet Desai extended India's advantage to 2-1 by securing victory in the third match, defeating Alan Kurmangaliyev with a dominating performance, beating the Kazakh 11-7, 12-10, 11-5.

However, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran went down to Kirill Gerassimenko in an extremely entertaining match, where Kirill won 5-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-5, 5-11, taking the tie to the decider.

In the final game, the legendary Sharath Kamal emerged as the hero of the hour, staging a remarkable comeback. Initially trailing 0-2 in the game against Aidos Kenzhigulov, Kamal exhibited extraordinary resilience, winning the final three games with narrow margins of 11-9, 11-8, 11-9.

This impressive performance secured a memorable victory for the Indian men's team over Kazakhstan, propelling them to the quarter-finals.

However, the story in the quarter-final was different. The Republic of Korea secured a convincing 3-0 victory over India. Harmeet Desai faced a tough challenge and was defeated by South Korea’s AN Jaehyun in straight games, 9-11, 8-11, 9-11.

Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Sharath Kamal fought valiantly but ultimately lost in five-setter matches.

Despite securing the first two sets, Gnanasekaran lost 12-10, 11-5, 7-11, 8-11, 6-11 to Park Ganghyeon.

OH Junsung beat Indian veteran Sharath Kamal in a close contest. The 41-year-old went down 11-2, 9-11, 1-11,11-2, 10-12.

The Indian Men’s team lost to South Korea in the semi-finals of the last edition of the Asian Games too.

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Indian women’s team results

After a brilliant performance on Saturday, the women’s team continued to play a high level of table tennis but just fell short in a closely contested match. They succumbed to a 2-3 defeat against Thailand.

Star Indian paddler Manika Batra, who had a crucial role in the team's performance, struggled as she lost both her matches, including the decisive fifth singles match.

The opening match saw World No. 39 Batra facing off against the 104th-ranked Thai player Orawan Paranang. Unfortunately, Batra couldn't find her rhythm, resulting in a 0-3 defeat, with Paranang dominating the game with an 11-7, 11-1, 13-11 victory in just 25 minutes.

However, 26-year-old Ayhika Mukherjee showcased her prowess by winning the second game of the tie 3-1, triumphing 18-16, 11-7, 13-15, 11-9 over much higher-ranked, Suthasini Sawettabut.

Sutirtha Mukherjee gave India the lead in the tie by defeating Tamolwan Khetkhuan 3-2 (11-1, 9-11, 3-11, 11-7, 11-7).

Thailand’s Orawan Paranang managed to stage a comeback in the fourth match, overcoming a determined Ayhika 3-2 (10-12, 11-4, 5-11, 11-4, 11-3) to keep Thailand's hopes alive.

The fate of the match was sealed in the decider, where Suthasini Sawettabut avenged her earlier defeat by beating Manika Batra 3-1 (10-12, 11-8, 11-7, 11-6), securing Thailand's place in the quarterfinals.

Despite the losses, the Indian paddlers remain in contention for medals as they will participate in the individual events starting from Monday, September 25, 2023.