Indian men's team secures 3rd consecutive medal, women end with bronze

The Indian mens table tennis team assured itself of its third consecutive bronze medal at Asian TT Championships overcoming a gritty Kazakhstan 31 in the quarterfinals on WednesdayThe medal in the mens team event was secured after the women lost to Japan in the semifinals to end with a historic bronzeIn the mens quarterfinal World No 60 Manav Thakkar set the tone delivering a stunning upset by dismantling Kazakhstans topranked player World No 41 Kirill Gerassimenko in a dominant 30 119 117 116 sweepGerassimenko normally a formidable opponent struggled to contain Thakkars aggressive style handing India an early lead at Asian TT ChampionshipsKazakhstans Alan Kurmangaliyev No 183 struck back swiftly defeating Harmeet Desai 30 116 115 118 with a relentless attacking display levelling the tie at 11 Desai visibly out of rhythm was overwhelmed by Alans pace and aggressionVeteran Sharath Kamal Indias table tennis icon stepped up in the third match easing past Aidos Kenzhigulov 30 114 117 1210 with characteristic poise and precision Despite Kenzhigulovs brave efforts Sharaths experience proved too much restoring Indias lead at 21Also Read Samant shines at state TT meetThe decisive moment came when Harmeet faced a firedup Gerassimenko in the fourth rubber After a shaky start World No 91 Harmeet found his footing launching a fierce counterattack in the second and fourth games turning the tide with explosive backhands and blistering forehandsIn the fifth game Harmeet raced to a 61 lead ultimately holding off a late comeback from Gerassimenko to win 32 and seal Indias place in the semifinals ensuring the bronze India men had finished with bronze in the previous two editions in 2023 and 2021This victory marks Indias seventh overall medal in the Asian TT Championships India play either Chinese Taipei or Japan in the semifinals on ThursdayThe womens team secured its first bronze medal after a 13 loss to Japan in the semifinals earlier in the dayDespite a strong showing against secondseeded South Korea strategic missteps including the absence of foreign coach Massimo Costantini against No 4seeded Japan may have cost India a shot at the finals Surprisingly the topranked Indian woman Sreeja Akula was also benchedAyhika Mukherjee who shone in the previous round against South Korea started well against Miwa Harimoto ranked No 7 in the world but let key opportunities slip losing 23 811 119 811 1311 74Miwa struggled to cope with Ayhikas odd pimpled rubber but the latter failed to press home the advantageManika Batra levelled the score with a commanding 116 115 118 win over Satsuki Odo ranked No 17 in the world but Mima Ito Japans secondbest paddler at No 9 dominated Sutirtha Mukherjee winning 119 114 1513 to put Japan aheadIn the decisive fourth match Batra couldnt maintain her earlier form falling 116 611 112 113 to Miwa sealing Indias exit but securing a wellearned bronzeWith agency inputs