The National Games 2022 table tennis event will take place at PDDU Indoor Stadium, Surat from September 20 to September 24.
To ensure the presence of Achanta Sharath Kamal, G Sathiyan and Manika Batra, who will compete at the World Table Tennis Championships, the table tennis events were scheduled earlier than the other competitions.
Sathiyan of Tamil Nadu and Manika of Delhi were seeded No.1 in the men’s and women’s singles, pushing the reigning National champions A. Sharath Kamal and Akula Sreeja to the second spot.
Sharath, who went on to win four medals, including three gold, at the recent Birmingham Commonwealth Games, found himself pushed a rung below because of his world ranking at No. 43. On the other hand, Sathiyan (No. 37) is the top-ranked Indian in the world. Manika, too, benefited from the same rule as the Delhi paddler is at No. 45, while Sreeja is at No. 77.
SCHEDULE DAY 2 (SEPTEMBER 21)-
| Event | TIME | OPPONENT 1 VS OPPONENT 2 |
| Women's team semifinals | 10 AM | Maharashtra vs Tamil Nadu |
| Women's team semifinals | 10 AM | Telangana vs West Bengal |
| Men's team semifinals | 12 PM | Gujarat vs West Bengal |
| Men's team semifinals | 12 PM | Maharashtra vs Delhi |
WHAT HAPPENED ON DAY 1 (SEPTEMBER 20)?
Comprising debutantes, the Tamil Nadu women’s team entered the medal round of the table tennis event of the 36th National Games, with a thrilling 3-2 win over Karnataka here on Tuesday. Incidentally, TN had bagged a bronze in the last edition of the Games held in 2015 in Kerala. Tamil Nadu will now face the top seed Maharashtra, with an all-win record in Group-A, in the semifinals on Wednesday.
In the last women’s Group-B match of the day to decide the second team to qualify for the last four clashes, Tamil Nadu pipped Karnataka 3-2 to book its spot. In the fifth and deciding rubber, C. R. Harshavardini fought back after losing the first two games to overcome V. Kushi 5-11, 9-11, 11-4, 11-9, 11-6.
READ- National Games 2022, Table Tennis: Schedule, athletes in action, timings
“It was usual pressure for me that one encounters in the fifth rubber. I am very happy that I could come through. I last played and won against Kushi in the 2018 Youth National ranking tournament in Vijayawada,” said Harshavardini.
In the other women’s semifinal, West Bengal will take on Telangana. Top seed Gujarat will take on West Bengal while Maharashtra, the second seed, will clash with Delhi in the men’s semifinals. In their third and last group match, Gujarat blanked Telangana 3-0 with Harmeet Desai, Manav Thakkar and Manush Shah scripting victories.
-K. Keerthivasan
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