Asian Table Tennis Championships 2024: Ayhika-Sutirtha pair assured of medal; Manush, Manav move to round of 16 with surprise wins
Asian Games bronze medallists Ayhika and Sutirtha defeated South Korea’s Kim Nayeong and Lee Eunhye 3-1 (10-12, 11-7, 11-9, 11-8) in the quarterfinals.
Published : Oct 12, 2024 11:37 IST , CHENNAI - 2 MINS READ
FILE PHOTO: India’s Sutirtha Mukherjee (L) and Ayhika Mukherjee (R) guaranteed themselves a medal at the Asian Championships in Astana after reaching the semifinals on Saturday. | Photo Credit: AFP
Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee guaranteed themselves a medal at the Asian Table Tennis Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan, after reaching the women’s doubles semifinals on Saturday.
The Indian pair of Ayhika and Sutirtha, who created history by grabbing a bronze medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games, defeated South Korea’s Kim Nayeong and Lee Eunhye 3-1 (10-12, 11-7, 11-9, 11-8) in the quarterfinals.
It will be the first all-Indian women’s doubles pair to stand on the podium at the Asian Championships. Gool Nasikwala had won a gold medal in women’s doubles, partnering Japan’s Yoshiko Tanaka, when the erstwhile Table Tennis Federation of Asia had conducted the event for the first time in 1952 in Singapore.
Ayhika-Sutirtha duo, World No. 15, will face Japan’s Miwa Harimoto and Miyuu Kihara in the semifinals on Sunday.
In men’s singles, Manush Shah and Manav Thakkar shocked higher-ranked South Korean opponents to reach the round of 16.
World No. 115 Shah defeated World No. 23 and former world championships bronze medallist An Jaehyun 3-0 (11-9, 11-5, 11-6). On the other hand, World No. 60 Thakkar won 3-2 (5-11, 11-9, 5-11, 11-9, 11-7) against World No. 14 and Asian Games bronze medallist Jang Woojin.
Shah will face Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yun-Ju while Thakkar will be up against Hong Kong’s Chan Baldwin in the round of 16 later in the day.
However, Harmeet Desai went down 0-3 (12-14, 7-11, 7-11) down to South Korea’s Lim Jonghoon, World No. 30, in his round of 32 match.
In women’s singles, Manika Batra went down 1-3 (8-11, 11-9, 7-11, 5-11) to Harimoto in the round of 16.