World Team TT C'ships: Indian men finish 13th, women 17th

Indian men defeated Romania 3-1 in the classification match of the Championship Division to finish 13th in the world team table tennis championships here on Saturday.

Sharath Kamal was in supreme form on Saturday.

Indian men defeated Romania 3-1 in the classification match of the Championship Division to finish 13th in the world team table tennis championships here on Saturday.  Earlier, Indian women had finished a disappointing 17th place in the Championship Division.

Given the rankings, it was clear that Romania would be no match for India. Barring Ovidiu Ionescu (world ranked 57), none of them had the pedigree to match the skills of Indians. Ionescu dispatched Sathiyan in three straight games.

Sharath toyed with Hunor Szocs in the second rubber before Harmeet Desai enhanced the lead, defeating Christian Pletea, a player ranked 250, in three games.

The fourth rubber between Sharath and Ionescu was expected to be a keenly-contested one. But the veteran Indian was at his attacking best. Sharath was ferocious on both flanks and the Romanian just wilted from the continuous onslaught.

The results:

Men (13-16 positions): India 3 bt Romania 1 (G. Sathiyan lost to Ovidiu Ionescu 6-11, 4-11, 8-11; Sharath Kamal bt Hunor Szocs 11-5, 11-7, 11-9; Harmeet Desai bt Cristian Pletea 11-6, 11-6, 11-8; Sharath bt Ionescu 11-13, 11-6, 11-7, 11-6).