BUSAN (Soth Korea): India’s men’s and women’s table tennis teams secured victories against New Zealand and Spain, respectively, in their final group stage matches at the World Table Tennis Team Championships.
Led by Manika Batra, Sreeja Akula, and Ayhika Mukherjee, the women’s team displayed resilience to orchestrate a remarkable comeback, securing a 3-2 victory and advancing to the knockout stage.
The Indian team found themselves trailing at 2-0 Manika and Sreeja lost their respective matches. They managed to hold on to their nerves and turned the tide, shattering Spain’s hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages.
Ayhika inspired the Indian team to an unprecedented comeback, clinching a hard-fought win against Elvira Rad.
Manika came in and dominated Maria Xiao to bring the scoreline on level terms. Sreeja ensured that the team crossed the finishing line with a 3-1 victory over Sofia ensured India’s place in the next round.
On the other hand, the men’s team cruised to a comfortable 3-0 victory over New Zealand. Harmeet Desai and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran dominated their respective clashes of the tie while Manush Shah fought hard to seal the game.
Harmeet defeated Timothy Choi in three straight games, while Gnanasekaran also defeated Alfred Dela Pena in a similar fashion.
Maxwell made Manush work hard by forcing the Indian paddler to make a comeback twice to stay in the game.
Eventually, Manush levelled up his game and took the final set to seal India’s spot in the knockout stages. (ANI)