Table Tennis: India
This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
Asian Table Tennis Championships
2021
A
Indian paddlers assured of maiden medal in Asian Championships Doha:
India were on Wednesday assured of their maiden medal in the Asian Table Tennis Championships after beating Iran 3-1 in the quarterfinals here. India were also handed a direct entry into the eight-team main draw of the ITTF-ATTU joint event.
Ace paddler A Sharath Kamal led the charge in the win against Iran. Sharath, who opened the first match of the rubber, downed Nima Alamiyan 11-9, 6-11,11-9,11-5 to put India 1-0 up. In the next tie, G Sathiyan beat Noshad Alamiyan (world No. 74)11-7,11-6, 6-11,11-6. But in the next rubber, Harmeet Desai lost to Amir Hossein Hodaei. In the reverse singles, Sharath, however, sealed the fate of Iran, beating Noshad 11-8, 11-8, 8-11, 11-9 to ensure India their first medal.
Indian women’s team, however, suffered a 1-3 defeat against topseeded Japanese in the quarterfinals on Thursday. PTI
B: Indian men win bronze
Oct 2, 2021: The Times of India
India lose to Korea in Asian TT
Doha:
The Indian men’s table tennis team signed off with a bronze medal in the Asian Championships after losing to formidable South Korea 0-3 in the semifinals here on Friday. The Indian team was on Wednesday assured of a medal after beating Iran 3-1 in the quarterfinals. Both the semifinalists secure a bronze. In the semifinals, the clinical South Koreans proved too tough for the Indians who failed to win a single tie.
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Oct 5, 2021: The Times of India
The two Indian pairs of Sharath Kamal and G Sathiyan, and Harmeet Desai and Manav Thakkar, earned bronze medals in the men’s doubles of the 2021 ITTF-ATTU Asian Championships. In the first semi-final, the eighth-seeded Harmeet and Manav stretched South Korean fifth seeds of Woojin Jang and Jonghoon Lim before bowing out 4-11, 6-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-8 in 44 minutes.
However, the sixth-seeded pair of Sharath and Sathiyan withstood the onslaught from Yukiya Uda and Shunsuke Togami for 33 minutes, going down 5-11, 9-11,11-13.Yet, the Indian men made history at the Asian Championships, first winning team bronze last week, and both pairs adding a doubles bronze each.
Harmeet and Manav, facing a 0-2 deficit, were seemingly out of the match. But they regrouped in the third to give a scare to their opponents. From 7-all, they made it 10-10 and took the game 12-10. With renewed energy, the two combined well and ran the Koreans close at 5-5. But the three points lead at 8-5 restored their confidence as despite Korea making it 9-all, the eighth seeds sealed the game for them.
In the decider, the Indian pair went 6-4 up. But the Koreans seized the initiative (6-6), and it proved costly..
However, after losing the first game tamely against the Japanese pair, Sharath and Sathiyan recovered from a 1-3 deficit to give them a glimpse of hope in the second. PTI
2023
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Sep 7, 2023: The Times of India
Pyeongchang (South Korea): The Indian men’s table tennis team signed off with a bronze medal after going down 0-3 to Chinese Taipei in the Asian Championships semifinal here on Wednesday. In a disappointing display, both Sharath Kamal and G Sathiyan surrendered meekly to their higher-ranked opponents while Harmeet Desai showed the stomach for a fight but couldn’t get the better of Kao Cheng-Jui.
Sharath was handed a 6-11, 6-11, 9-11 defeat by Chuang Chih-Yuan, ranked 26th, while Sathiyan went down 5-11, 6-11, 10-12 to world number 7 Lin Yun-Ju. PTI
2024
A
Oct 9, 2024: The Times of India
Astana : The Indian women’s table tennis team assured itself of a first ever medal at the Asian Championships with a stunning 3-2 win over Paris Olympics bronze medallists South Korea in the quarterfinals.
World No. 92 Ayhika Mukherjee was the architect of the famous victory as she beat world number 8 Shin Yubin 11-9, 7-11, 12-10, 7-11, 11-7 and world number 16 Jeon Jihee in the rubber.
Ayhika and Manika Batra had given India an unexpected 2-0 lead before the South Koreans made it 2-2. Ayhika held her nerve against Jihee to seal the win 7-11, 11-6, 12-10, 12-10. Ayhika was not part of the team in Paris but was back following the retirement of Archana Kamath. She has built a reputation of being a giant killer having beaten world No. 1 Sun Yinghsa this year. PTI
B
Oct 14, 2024: The Times of India
Astana : India wrapped up their campaign at the Asian Table Tennis Championships with three medals, including a historic bronze in the women’s doubles, after Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee’s dream run ended in the semifinals.
The world No. 15 pair fell to Japan’s Miwa Harimoto and Miyuu Kihara, 4-11, 9-11, 8-11 in under 30 minutes in their last-four clash.
The Indian women’s team had earlier clinched a historic bronze in the team event.
The trio of Manika Batra, Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee secured the country’s first-ever medal in the women’s team category since the competition began in 1972, though they eventually lost 1-3 to Japan in the semifinals.
In the men’s catehory, India secured another bronze, their third straight in the tournament, after the team of Achanta Sharath Kamal, Manav Thakkar, and Harmeet Desai fell 0-3 to Chinese Taipei in the semifinals.
In men’s singles, Manav Thakkar and Manush Shah bowed out in the pre-quarterfinals. World No. 60 Thakkar, who had earlier shocked world No. 14 Jang Woojin of South Korea, was defeated by Hong Kong’s Baldwin Chan, 4-11 4-11 8-11. PTI
Asian Cup
2022
A: Manika reaches semi finals
Nov 19, 2022: The Times of India
Bangkok : Star paddler Manika Batra became the first Indian to reach the semifinals of the Asian Cup Table Tennis tournament with a 4-3 win over higher-ranked Chen SzuYu of Chinese Taipei.
World number 44 Manika beat Chen, ranked 23rd in the ITTF chart, 6-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-7, 8-11, 9-11, 11-9 in a hard-fought women’s singles quarterfinal match at the Hua Mak Indoor Stadium.
Manika has already ensured the best finish by an Indian in the 39-year-old history of the Asian Cup, after Achanta Sharath Kamal and G Sathiyan had finished sixth in 2015 and 2019.
The ace Indian paddler had earlier shocked world No. 7 Chen Xingtong of China in a round of 16 match on Thursday. Manika will meet world number five and second seed Mima Ito of Japan in the semifinals on Saturday. The other semifinal will be played between world number four Wang Yidi of China and Hina Hayata (world number six) of Japan.
The $200,000 event features the top 16 players in men’s and women’ssingles from the continent based on world rankings and qualifications.
Manika had the right measure of her Chinese Taipei opponent, despite losing the first game to register her second win in the tournament. With the win, the unseeded Manika improved her win-loss record against the Taipei paddler to 2-4.
“She (Szu-Yu ) is a great player. I lost to her in the World Championships (Team) recently. But this time, I changed my strategies, and they paid off. Today’s win has given me confidence and I will play with all focus back tomorrow,” said Manika. After a scratchy first game, Manika took control of the match and dictated terms against her higherranked opponent. The Indian got everything going for her -the blocks, the placements, the backhand and forehand scorchers and the cross-court shots. Meanwhile, men’s singles firstround losers G Sathiyan and Sharath Kamal, who finished in the 9-16 position brackets, will receive $2,250 each.
PTI
B: Manika wins bronze, first Indian to win medal
Nov 20, 2022: The Times of India
Star paddler Manika Batra created history by becoming the first Indian woman table tennis player to finish the Asian Cup TT tournament with a bronze medal at the Hua Mak Indoor Stadium in Bangkok. In the bronze playoff, the unseeded Manika edged past world No. 6 Hina Hayata of Japan 4-2 (11-6, 6-11, 11-7, 12-10, 4-11, 11-2) to achieve the feat. The world No. 44 Indian will also carry home a prize money of $10,000 for her efforts.
“I am happy to win the bronze medal. This win is huge for me, defeating top players. . . I enjoyed playingand fighting against them. I will continue to put in the extra yard in all my future tournaments,” said an emotional Manika.
Earlier in the day, Manika lost 2-4 (8-11, 11-7, 7-11, 6-11, 11-8,7-11) to second seed Mima Ito of Japan in the semifinals. Ito managed to subdue the Indian with percentage play.
In the bronze playoff, Manika’s fighting qualities came to the fore in the fourth game when she was down in the dumps with fourth-seed Hayata holding the upper hand at 10-6. That was when Manika upped the ante, attacking the flanks with crisp forehands. Her counter-attacking play took Hayata by surprise. Manika used her backhand punches to good effect. At 10-10, the serve was with the Japanese. But an unforeseen fault by Hayata wherein her service hit the net and the ball dropped on her side itself helped Manikago up with a lucky point. Manika then held on to her serve to win the game.
The Japanese, however, raced to a handy lead in the next game and went on to win it to reduce the margin. Manika then changed her strategy in the sixth game, attacking from the word go. With frustration setting in, the Japanese became error-prone, unable to keep the ball on the table, as Manika went from strength to strength to win the game and match at 11-2. On her way to the bronze medal, Manika had drowned world No. 7 Chen Xingtong from China in the round of 16 and then accounted for world No. 23 Chen Szu-Yu 4-3 of Taipei in the quarterfinals.
2023
A
Sep 6, 2023: The Times of India
Lahore : Bangladesh have been hit hard by injuries in their ongoing Asia Cup campaign, with Najmul Hossain Shanto being ruled out of the remainder of the tournament with a hamstring problem. As per the BCB, he will return to Bangladesh immediately and work on his rehabilitation ahead of the World Cup.
Premier wicketkeeper batter Litton Das, who was initially ruled out of the tournament because of illness, joined the team in place of Shanto after getting his medical clearance. According to team physio Bayjedul Islam Khan, Shanto’s injury occurred during Bangladesh’s meeting against Afghanistan here, where he played a brilliant knock of 104 to guide the team to an 89-run win.
Shanto was seemingly struggling to run during the latter part of the Bangladesh innings and refrained from taking the field during Afghanistan’s chase. “The player had complained of hamstring pain during batting and could not field. We had an MRI scan done confirming a muscle tear,” Bayjedul said. “As a precaution, Shanto will not take any further part in the tournament.” PTI
China Open Super 1000 tournament
2023
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Sep 6, 2023: The Times of India
Changzhou (China) : The men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty suffered an openinground defeat in the China Open Super 1000 tournament, going down to Indonesia’s Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Maulana Bagas. The Indian pair lost to the world No.13 13 duo 17-21, 21-11, 17-21.
Mixed doubles pair of Sikki Reddy and Rohan Kapoor also crashed out of the tournament in the first round. PTI
Grand Smash
2024: giant-killing Batra 1st Indian woman in QFs of an elite WTT event
May 10, 2024: The Times of India
Jeddah: Manika Batra’s giant-killing run at the Grand Smash tournament here ended in the women’s singles quarterfinals on Thursday as she lost to Japan’s Hina Hayata 1-4, having become the first Indian woman table tennis player to enter the last eight stage of an elite WTT event.
The Indian ace was coming off victory over world No. 14 Nina Mittelham. After stunning world No. 2 Wang Manyu in the second round, Batra extended her red hot form in Saudi Arabia with a 11-6, 11-9, 11-7 win over her German rival in just 22 minutes on Wednesday. However, she could not stretch the run against world No. 5 Hayata, losing 11-7, 6-11, 4-11, 11-13, 2-11. Earlier, Batra recorded first win over Mittelham in four attempts to set up a meeting with another formidable rival in Hayata.
The Indian entered the quarterfinals, backing herself to put it past Hayata as she had upset the Japanese to win a historic bronze in the Asia Cup back in 2022. But the result did not go in her favour this time.
Batra, who is currently ranked 39, is set to break into the top-25 following a memorable week here. Batra had shocked China’s Wang on Monday after getting past Romania’s Andreea Dragoman in the first round. PTI
World Table Tennis Championships
2021
Nov 29, 2021: The Times of India
Star India paddler Manika Batra failed to bag a medal at the World Table Tennis Championships after crashing out in the quarterfinals of the mixed and women’s doubles events.
Just one win away from a historic medal, Batra and G Sathiyan lost to Japan’s Tomakazu Harimoto and Hina Hayata 1-3 (5-11 2-11 11-7 9-11) in the last eight round of the mixed doubles competition.
Batra had another opportunity to create history but she faltered yet again, losing the women’s doubles quarterfinals with her partner Archana Kamath in straight games.
Batra and Kamath were no match for Luxembourg duo of Sarah De Nutte and Ni Xia Lian, losing 0-3 (1-11 6-11 8-11) in a lop-sided contest. PTI
2023
Diya-Sreeja make semis: Continuing their splendid run, India’s women’s doubles pair of Diya Chitale and Sreeja Akula stormed into the semifinals of the WTT Contender in Zagreb, Croatia with a hardfought 3-2 win over Xin Ru Wong and Jian Zeng of Singapore. Sreeja and Diya showed fine composure to seal it 9-11, 12-10, 11-7, 5-11, 11-8 in little over 39 minutes. The Indian duo will take on Suthasini Sawettabut and Orawan Paranang of Thailand in the semis. Earlier, Manika Batra advanced to the pre-quarterfinals beating Croatia’s Hana Arapovic 3-1.
World Team Table Tennis Championships
2024
February 17, 2024: The Times of India
Busan: The Indian women’s team went down 2-3 to China after putting up a valiant show in its opening tie in the preliminary round Group 1 of the World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals 2024.
At the World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals, each tie consists of a maximum of five singles matches. The first team to win three matches wins the tie. Ayhika Mukherjee, who won the bronze medal at the Asian Games last year in doubles, gave India a fiery start as she stunned World No.1 and Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Sun Yingsha 3-1 (12-10, 2-11, 13-11, 11-6) in the opening rubber.
India’s top-ranked singles player at world No. 36 Manika Batra, then lost 1-3 (3-11, 8-11, 15-13, 7-11) to world No.4 Wang Manyu in the second match of the tie as China levelled the score. In the third rubber, Sreeja Akula reclaimed the lead for India as she sent blistering forehands and mind-boggling backhand tempo changes to clean up World No.2 Wang Yidi 3-0 (11-7, 11-9, 13-11).
“I was really happy beating Wang Yidi. We got the team spirit and the players, who were sitting on the bench supported so we were so mo- tivated,” said Sreeja after the match.
However, the reigning Olympic champions, China won the final two matches to clinch the tie. Sun Yingsha stepped out to steady the ship with a tough four-game 3-1 (11-3, 11-6, 11-13, 11-9) win over Manika. With the scores levelled 2-2, Wang Manyu then closed out the match by defeating Ayhika 3-0 (11-9, 13-11, 11-6) to wrap up the tie. The Indian women will play their next match against Hungary on Sunday. Up to eight Paris 2024 Olympics team quotas are on offer in each of the two events at the World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals. These will go to nations who reach the quarterfinals in Busan. The Indian men’s and women’s table tennis teams are yet to obtain quotas for the Paris Olympics. PTI
WTT Singapore Smash
2024: first Indian in the quarterfinals
March 14, 2024: The Times of India
Chennai: Sharath Kamal became the first Indian paddler to reach the quarterfinals of the WTT Singapore Smash, one of the most prestigious tournaments, which offers 2000 ranking points. The 41-year old defe ated the world No. 22 Omar Assar in straight sets 3-0 (11-4, 11-8, 12-10) in the prequarterfinals at the Singapore Sports Hub.
“I did not expect a 3-0 win, rather thought it would go much closer. I was serving and receiving well throughout the match. I have known Omar Assar for quite some time as we both are part of the ITTF (table tennis’s world body) Athletes Commission,” S harath said to WTT after the match.
Sharath, who won the first two sets with ease, had to work hard in the third. From 4-4, Omar won four points in a row and looked set to take the match into the fourth set. However, the experienced paddler fought his way back and reduced the deficit to one point (7-8). Omar called a time-out a t this point, but it did not make much of a difference as S harath fended off a set point and went on to win the match.
“In the third set, I was rushing a lot towards the end. But I am happy that I could finish the encounter.”
World Youth Championships, ITTF
2023
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Nov 29, 2023: The Times of India
U-19 TT girls claim first team bronze
YOUTH WORLDS
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Bengaluru : India’s U-19 women’s team, comprising Yashaswini Ghorpade, Suhana Saini, Sayali Wani and Taneesha Kotecha, claimed a bronze medal at the ITTF World Youth Championships, going down to China 3-0 in the semifinals at Nova Gorica.
It was the first-ever team medal for the country at the Worlds. Yashaswini and Suhana had bagged a bronze medal in the last edition of the World Youth meet in Tunisia. The fourth-seeded Indian girls, who got a bye in the pre-quarters, beat Egypt 3-2 to enter the medal round on Monday. It was not an auspicious start for India as Hana Goda, the world No. 30, beat Suhana 11-6, 11-4, 11-4. But Yashaswini defeated Farida Badawy 11-7, 14-12, 11-3 and Taneesha accounted for Mariam Younes 11-4, 12-10, 11-6 to put India back on track.
B
Amit.Sampat, Dec 4, 2023: The Times of India
Jennifer-Divyanshi win historic silver
Jennifer Varghese and Divyanshi Bhowmick on Sunday etched their names in Indian table tennis history at the ITTF World Youth Table Tennis Championship in Nova Gorcia, Slovenia. The two won the silver after putting up a tough fight against topseeded Japanese pair of Mao Takamori and Yuna Ojio in the girls U-15 category. It was India’s only silver at the meet. “ I am glad, I did fairly okay,” Jennifer told TOI later.
There were 14 events in the U-15 and U-19 age categories at the youth Worlds and Jennifer and Divyanshi became the first Indian pair to reach the final.
After losing the first game 5-11, the Indian pair outclassed the TakamoriOjio pair 11-8 in the second game. The Japanese duo upped their game with aggression to regain the lead by dominating the third game 11-4. By then, Takamori and Ojio had sensed that Jennifer and Divyanshi were gasping for answers. The Japanese pair cruised to an 11-2 win in the game to pocket the gold.
Of the 58 medals up for grabs at the eight-day meet, the Indian contingent won just three medals with Jennifer accounting for two.
WTT Contender tournament
2023
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June 23, 2023: The Times of India
Batra-Sathiyan mixed doubles pair in semis
New Delhi: Indian mixed doubles pair of Manika Batra and G Sathiyan advanced to the semifinals of the WTT Contender tournament in Tunis after a straight-set win over German duo of Cedric Meissner and Yuan Wan. Batra-Sathiyan won 3-0 (11-8 11-3 11-8) in the quarterfinal match that lasted a little over 21 minutes. They face the Korean pair of Shin Yubin and Lim Jonghoon for a place in the final.
Table Tennis Federation of India
2022: HC suspends TTFI, appoints administrator on Batra plea
Feb 12, 2022: The Times of India
New Delhi: Saying it was “appalled” by the “sorry state of affairs”, the Delhi high court on Friday suspended the decision making body of the Table Tennis Federation of India and appointed an administrator in its place.
Justice Rekha Palli, while hearing the petition filed by Commonwealth Games gold medalist Manika Batra, found enough in the report of a court-appointed three-member probe panel to observe that TTFI “safeguarded the interests of its officials” and “instead of promoting players, is dictating terms”. The panel was constituted following allegations of matchfixing levelled by Batra.
2015
Commonwealth Table Tennis Championship
A record medals haul
The Times of India Dec 21 2015
Shweta Singh
Surat
An impressive performance on Sunday ensured that India will end the 20th Commonwealth Table Tennis Championship with their best-ever medal haul in the competition. In the mixed doubles event, the hosts recorded a first when the pair of G Sathiyan and Ankita Das got past compatriots Soumyajit Ghosh and Mouma Das 3-1 to capture India's maiden gold in the event. The bronze was also won by India. The hosts have ensured as many as 16 medals, their highest-ever in CW TT beating nine which they got from the 2013 edition of the games in Delhi. Five Indian paddlers -Soumyajit, Anthony Amalraj, Sanil, Manika and Mouma Das -are certain of returning home with individual medals.
While in the men's doubles, four Indian pairs, -Harmeet DesaiGhosh, Abhishek Yadav-Sudhanshu Grover, Amalraj-Shetty and Sathiyan-Devesh, ensured that four more medals add to India's tally . In women's doubles, two Indian pairs, K Shamini-Mouma, Ankita-Manika, stormed their way into the semifinals to ensure at least a bronze.
India now have gold and silver in team's men and women's events, three medals in mixed doubles and with 11 still waiting in the wings, the tally touches a massive 16.
In men's singles quarters, world No. 95 Ghosh made easy work of Scotland's Gavin Rumgay in four straight games to sail in the semifinals where he will play world No. 176 Chen Feng of Singapore who accounted for Ghosh's compatriot G Sathiyan 11-13, 11-9, 7-11, 10-12, 11-4, 5-11.
In an all-Indian quarterfinals, qualifer Sanil Shetty broke the hearts of Surtis when he came from behind to upset local lad and fourth seed Harmeet Desai 9-11, 4-11, 11-9, 711, 11-8, 11-9, 11-5. Both the players displayed an array of forehand topspin shots from back of the table but in the end the southpaw Shetty prevailed over a nervous-looking Desai.
The other quarterfinals saw yet another all-India clash in which Amalraj defeated Abhishek Yadav.
Mouma, Manika assured of medal: Two Indian women Mouma Das and Manika Batra assured themselves of at least a bronze medal by reaching the semifinals. India No. 2 Mouma had a tough time against Pooja Sahasrabudhe who stretched her compatriot all the way . There was little to chose between the two girls but in the decider, Mouma's massive experience was too much for Pooja to handle.
India bag 16 medals in all
The Times of IndiaDec 22 2015
ShwetaSingh
It was a befitting Commonwealth Table Tennis Championship final in which Cheng Feng was made to work hard by India's Anthony Amalraj before the Singaporean could win the men's singles title here on Monday .
Amalraj's silver helped the Indian contingent clinch their best-ever medal haul of 16 including three gold, six silver and seven bronze in the tournament. India's highest tally before this was nine which the hosts managed in New Delhi in 2013. Singapore topped the medals tally with four gold medals and a team bronze.
2017
Senior Table Tennis Nationals: 2017: Sharath, Madhurika top
Kamal wins 7th national crown, Feb 6, 2017: The Times of India
Sharath had won his maiden title at Manesar nationals 13 years ago when Haryana had hosted the event in 2003.
Veteran Achanta Sharath Kamal bagged his seventh national crown in men's singles, while Madhurika Patkar became the champion for the first time in the women's singles at the 11Even Sports Senior Table Tennis Nationals.
In the men's singles final, a visibly tired Sharath beat an equal ly weary Soumyajit Ghosh 4-2 to clinch the title at the Manesar Sports Club here.
Madhurika downed six-time national champion Poulo mi Ghatak 4-0 in the women's singles final.
Sharath and Madhurika's efforts fetched them Rs. 2.2 lakh and Rs. 1.2 lakh, respectively. The confidence that Sharath had gained in the semifinals against fifth-seed Harmeet Desai had done a world of good as he went into the final against the two-time champion Ghosh.
South Asian Junior Table Tennis Championships
India win 10 gold in junior TT event, May 22, 2017: The Times of India
India added six more gold on the concluding day to win all 10 gold medals on offer in the South Asian Junior Table Tennis Championships at Mount Lavinia, near Colombo.
They also claimed four silver medals for a total of 14 medals from the regional championships. After winning four gold medals in team events on the first two days of the three-day championships, the Indian paddlers continued their domination in two doubles events and followed them up with gold in all singles.
World rankings and India: 2017: Three Indians in top 100
Three Indian paddlers in top 100, May 4, 2017: The Times of India
Harmeet Desai has joined his India teammates, Sharath Kamal and Soumyajit Ghosh, by breaking the top-100 barrier to touch a career high 95 in the latest table tennis world rankings.
This is the first time ever that three Indians figure in top-100 of ITTF rankings.With his sterling show at the Wuxi Asian Championships, Harmeet moved five places ahead after being at No. 100 on the men's ranking list.
Sharath is still the top-ran ked Indian at No. 54 while Ghosh, despite winning the Chile Open on Sunday , made a small jump ahead, moving to 83 from 84. But the worst sufferer is Manika Batra who, from world No. 93, has been pushed to No. 103.
2018
Asian Junior, Cadet Championships
Manav Thakkar bags two bronze at Asian Junior TT, August 19, 2018: The Times of India
India’s junior paddlers, led by World No 5 Manav Thakkar, bagged three medals at the Asian Junior and Cadet Championships in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar. In the doubles, the duo of Manav and Manush Shah won bronze. Manav then paired up with Archana Kamath to win his second bronze in the mixed doubles.
Indian presence in the world arena
Ayaz Memon, June 15, 2018: The Times of India
( Ayaz Memon is a prominent sports writer, journalist, columnist, author and lawyer)
India’s unprecedented successes at the 2018 CWG could be a turning point for table tennis in the country. Eight medals overall (3 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze) – the most for India in any sport — is a fantastic harvest.
This was something that nobody would have anticipated. In hindsight, I would like to believe this suggests a paradigm shift in the way the sport is being perceived and played in the country now. This is borne out by the performances of our players in recent competitions and their rankings.
Four Indians are in the top-100 in the world across men’s and women’s categories and as many more are poised to achieve that distinction. Talented Indian players getting exposure, whether in young leagues like the CEAT UTT or older ones in Germany and elsewhere is not only heartening, but also imperative for sport to grow in the country.
With professionally run platforms like CEAT UTT bringing top-class table tennis to the masses in India, I believe a full-fledged revolution in the sport is underway.
Krishnakanta Chakraborty, Manav rises to world No. 2, January 20, 2018: The Times of India
Manav Thakkar became the first Indian paddler to grab the world No.2 spot in the boys’ under-18 category of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) rankings. Li Hsin-Yang of Chinese Taipei holds the No. 1 spot while China’s Wang Chuqin is in third spot.
The 17-year-old Surat boy has been in brilliant form for the last one year and has bagged two Pro-tour gold medals in Slovenia and Indian Open and finished runners-up in Thailand Open last year. A few more wins at the international level will brighten Manav’s chances to climb to the top spot. Manav has also broken into the top-15 in the boys’ U-21rankings.
Manav, who started playing table tennis at the age of 6 under the guidance of Vahed Malubhai at Sufaiz TT Academy in Surat, began to show his talent at an early stage and impressed everyone by bagging a triple crown in the state meet (cadet, sub-junior and junior) in Surat way back in 2010.
Apart from Manav, there are as many as 17 India players broke into the top-50 of the world rankings in different categories. Among other successes, recently crowned junior national champion Payas Jain has climbed to the 11th spot, and right behind him is Jeho H at No. 12. Another entrant into the top 50 — Yashansh Malik — is at the 46th spot.
Snehit S (24), Manush Shah (33), Jeet Chandra (36) and Parth Virmani (43) also promise big things, making it into the upper echelons of the U-18 ITTF rankings. Another Gujarati lad in fray is Ronit Bhanja, who is placed No. 47 in the U-21rankings. In the girls’ U-18 category, Bengaluru lass Archana Girish Kamath has has also moved up smartly from 34 to 18. Chennai girl Selena Selvakumar has also been quietly inching up and is now at No. 37.
Serbian Junior and Cadet Open
Junior paddlers bag 2 silver, 3 bronze
September 21, 2018: Business Standard
Kovilovo (Serbia): India’s young paddlers extended their purple patch on the international stage, clinching two silver and three bronze medals in the 2018 Serbian Junior and Cadet Open here. Deepit Patil-Anukram Jain and Radhapriya Goel-Anusha Kutumbale emerged as the stars, winning the silver medals in the junior boys’ doubles and the junior girls’ doubles categories respectively here. Diya Chitale-Swastika Ghosh claimed the bronze medal.
U-18
Manav is U-18 world No. 1 paddler, February 2, 2018: The Times of India
Chennai: Manav Thakkar became the first Indian paddler to make it to the top of the U-18 world ranking that came out on Thursday. China’s Wang Chuqin grabbed the No.2 slot while Indian-origin American player Kanak Jha was placed at No.3.
Manav, who rose to the No. 2 spot last month, accumulated 6396 points till January end, according to the latest International Table Tennis Federation rankings. “It’s a great feeling and I’m unable to express it in words,” Manav told TOI from Luxembourg, where he will be vying for top honours in the ITTF World Junior Circuit Finals.
Indian players’ world rankings, August
Sharath jumps to 33rd spot in world TT rankings, August 4, 2018: The Times of India
Achanta Sharath Kamal, long-time poster boy of Indian table tennis, upstaged teammate G Sathiyan to be the highest ranked Indian in the world at No.33. Sathiyan, who is at No.39, has shown a jump of just one spot while Sharath gained 10 positions. Harmeet Desai, who was at 79 before the Commonwealth Games, is very much in the top 100 but 20 places behind at No.99. In women’s rankings, Manika Batra gained 24 places to be at No.57. PTI
2019
A summary of the year
Hindol Basu and Rohit Bharadwaj, Dec 29, 2019 The Times of India
KING KONG OF PING PONG
The year saw Sathiyan Gnanasekaran take over the mantle of being India’s leading paddler on the international circuit. Sathiyan made his mark at the highest level where he defeated quite a few Top 20 players, including world No. 5 and young Japanese teenage sensation Harimoto Tomokazu. The 26-year-old also became the first Indian to break into the Top 25 of the ITTF world rankings when he rose to 24 in July. Another feather in his cap was the sixth-place finish in his first-ever Asian Cup. It helped him qualify for the World Cup where he made it to the main draw after topping his group. In the event, Sathiyan beat higher-ranked players like Simon Gauzy and Jonathan Groth. He eventually went down to the legendary Timo Boll in the pre-quarters.
Jan: National Championships
Sam Chakraborty, Sharath Kamal wins record ninth title, January 10, 2019: The Times of India
Maiden Crown For 18-Yr-Old Kamath
The bat was off his hand immediately and he was on the floor.
Achanta Sharath Kamal, who had flown in brother Rajat to have him by his side, just could not believe that he had created history at the 80th National Table Tennis Championships. A record ninth title in men’s singles category was finally his, Kamlesh Mehta’s eight wins standing second best to his phenomenal achievement.
As Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium rose to congratulate the 36-year-old on a cool Wednesday evening, the Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) man could not be happier. Up against teammate G Sathiyan in the final, Sharath triumphed 11-13, 11-5, 11-6, 5-11, 10-12, 11-6, 14-12.
Sathiyan, who had finished behind Soumyajit Ghosh in the 2014 edition of the tournament, looked hungry and determined as he pushed Sharath to the limit. Pulling off one exquisite smash after the other, the 26-year-old hardly put a foot wrong. Playing like a man possessed, Sathiyan needed one more game to clinch his maiden title while Sharath’s feat seemed a distant possibility when the former had gone up 3-2.
A change of the T-shirt before the sixth game probably worked for the defending champion as Sharath roared back the way only he could. Bringing all his experience into play, he opened up the game by choosing to play longer rallies than going for his preferred serveand-kill method.
The move paid dividends with Sathiyan falling prey to the tactic and pulling his shots wide. Having missed two match points in the seventh game, Sharath kept his cool and when Sathiyan faltered at 12-13, the former marched into the record books.
On a day when emotions ran high, 18 year-old Archana Kamath could barely hide her tears.
The PSPB girl, after all, had just won her maiden senior national title in women’s singles. She eclipsed West Bengal’s Krittwika Sinha Roy 12-10, 6-11, 11-9, 12-10, 7-11, 11-3 to become the second youngest woman to win the trophy after Rinku Gupta in 1988.
Results
Men’s singles: Achanta Sharath Kamal (PSPB) beat G Sathiyan (PSPB) 11-13, 11-5, 11-6, 5-11, 10-12, 11-6, 14-12 Women’s singles: Archana Kamath (PSPB) beat Krittwika Sinha Roy (WB) 12-10, 6-11, 11-9, 12-10, 7-11, 11-3 Men’s doubles final: Arjun Ghosh & Ronit Bhanja (WB) bt Anirban Ghosh & Anirban Nandi (RSPB) 14-12, 8-11, 11-9, 12-10 Women’s doubles final: Nikhat Banu & Sreeja Akula (Telg) bt Anannya Basak & Srushti Haleangadi (Mah) 11-2, 11-8, 8-11, 11-7
Jan: Indians in world rankings
Leading Indian paddler G Sathiyan rose to a career-high 28 in the world rankings, while compatriot Manika Batra became the first female from the country to break into the top 50. Sathiyan gained three spots to achieve a new career-high ranking while Batra moved up four spots to be 47th.
Veteran Sharath Kamal, who was conferred with the Padma Shri last week, dropped three places to be 33rd in the men’s singles standings. Indian table tennis experienced a historic 2018 when the men’s team won the country’s first medal at the Asian Games to end a 60-year-wait. Later in the competition held in Jakarta, Sharath and Batra combined to win a second bronze.
Feb: Indians win 4 medals in Bahrain junior TT
February 10, 2019: The Times of India
India’s young paddlers stole the limelight in the Bahrain Junior and Cadet Open table tennis tournament, clinching four medals, including a gold, in Manama. Besides the gold, India won two silver and a bronze.
India fielded three teams in the cadet girls’ team event and swept all the three medals on offer. India A team won the gold, the India B the silver and the India C the bronze. India B team of Yashaswini Ghorpade and Kavya Sree Baskar beat Egypt in the first semifinal while India A defeated India C in the other semifinal. In the final, the India A team of Suhana Saini and Anargya Manjunath proved too strong for India B and clinched the gold medal on Friday night.
In the junior girls' competition, which was played in a round robin format, the Indian team of Manushree Patil and Swastika Ghosh beat three teams before losing to eventual champions Russia.
India collected seven points to win silver.
Nov/ Indian men no.9, best-ever rank
Indian men’s TT team achieves best-ever ranking: The Indian men’s table tennis team on Monday achieved its best-ever ranking by moving up to the ninth spot in the ITTF rankings. The Indian team comprising world No. 30 G Sathiyan and world No. 36 Sharath Kamal, is tied with 10th-placed Austria on 272 points but is ranked ninth. They are the only two Indians in the top-100. India number three Harmeet Desai is ranked 104. China are the expected number one in the team rankings, followed by Japan and Germany.
Dec: Indian men no. 8, best-ever rank
Indian men’s TT team achieves best-ever ranking: The Indian men’s table tennis team on Tuesday achieved its best-ever ranking by moving up to the eighth spot in the latest ITTF rankings. The Indian team comprising world No. 30 G Sathiyan and world No. 36 Sharath Kamal, is tied with ninth placed Austria on 280 points but is ranked ahead of them. G Sathiyan, who reached the pre-quarters of the World Cup last week by beating higher-ranked opponents Simon Gauzy of France and Jonathan Groth, was the highest ranked India at world No. 30.
Asian Championships
India lose to Japan in quarters
Sep 17, 2019: The Times of India
Yogyakarta (Indonesia):
The Indian men’s team went down to Japan 3-1 in the quarterfinals of the ITTF Asian Table Tennis Championships. Japan will play China, who beat Singapore 3-0.
Earlier, India recorded a 3-0 win over Thailand. After blanking out Kuwait and Sri Lanka with identical 3-0 wins in the group stages on Sunday, India entered the knockout stage of the 1st Division. In the knockouts they defeated Saudi Arabia (3-1) and followed it up with a win over Thailand.
Sharath Kamal defeated Padasak Tanviriyavechakul 8-11, 11-6, 11-4, 9-11, 11-2 to put India up. It was quite a struggle for the World No. 41as he, after going 2-1 up, made some errors which helped the Thai claw his way back. But the experienced Indian held on and sealed the game. TNN
India finishes fifth
Indian paddlers finish fifth
The Indian men’s team logged their best ever result at ITTF Asian Table Tennis Championships, finishing fifth after beating Hong Kong 3-1 in the classification match in New Delhi on Wednesday. The Indian team also defeated Iran 3-0 to clinch the gold medal in the champions division. In the classification match, India tried out a new opening with Sharath Kamal, who after the initial struggle, managed to put it across Lam Siu Hang 9-11, 11-6, 7-11, 11-7, 11-7 to provide the lead.
Sathiyan, 2nd Indian to reach Asian QF, loses in QF
Sep 21, 2019: The Times of India
Paddler Sathiyan falls after becoming second Indian to reach Asian QF
Yogyakarta (Indonesia):
World No. 4 Lin Gaoyuan beat G Sathiyan 3-1 to stop the Indian’s brilliant run in the 24th ITTF-ATTU Asian Table Tennis Championships here on Friday. Sathiyan, who became only the second Indian to reach the men’s singles quarterfinals at the continental event defeating An-Ji Song of North Korea earlier in the day, lost the first game 7-11 to Lin but came back hard to restore parity in the second. Lin showed his class and bagged two back-to-back games to wrap it up in style in just 38 minutes.
Earlier, Sathiyan, the top-ranked Indian in the world, hardly broke a sweat as he notched up a 11-7, 11-8, 11-6 win against his North Korean opponent in the pre-quarterfinal match that lasted 22 minutes. The only other occasion when an Indian paddler had reached the singles quarterfinals was when Sudhir Phadke beat a Chinese in the pre-quarterfinals of the Asian Championships in Pyongyang way back in 1976. Phadke passed away in 2018, aged 58.
“I am extremely happy to reach the quarterfinals for the first time and it has been a wonderful journey so far. I would really love to set the bar high for Indian table tennis and hungry to go even further in the tournament,” said an elated Saithyan after his pre-quarterfinal win. On his plans in the quarterfinals, Sathiyan had said: “I will go with an aim to win and try to play my best.”
Reminded that he and Achanta Sharath Kamal had an impressive outing against Gao and his partner earlier in the day in doubles, Sathiyan said, “Yes, we were almost in the medal round and that would have been historic.”
In the round of 64, Sathiyan had accounted for Singapore’s Koh Dominic Song Jun 11-6, 11-4, 11-5 before beating Iran’s Noshad Alamiyan 8-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-5 in the round of 32. Sathiyan and Sharath Kamal failed to reach the medal round in the men’s double as they lost to the Chinese duo of Liang Jingkun and Lin Gaoyuan 6-11, 12-10, 7-11, 11-8, 7-11.
In women’s, only Ayhika entered the prequarterfinals before losing to Ding Ning of China. Manika Batra lost to Hitomi Sato of Japan in the round of 32 while Archana lost to Feng Tianwei of Singapore. AGENCIES
Kamal-Sathiyan duo enters quarters
G Sathiyan and Achanta Sharath Kamal sailed into the men’s doubles quarterfinals at the ITTF Asian Table Tennis Championships with an easy win over Mahfoodh Sayed Murtadha and Rashed Rashed of Bahrain at Yogyakarta, Indonesia, on Thursday. The Indian duo beat Murtadha and Rashed 11-8 11-6 11-3 in a lop-sided affair.
Asian Junior, Cadet Championships
Indians in final
Sep 4, 2019: The Times of India
Indian boys entered the final of the Asian Junior and Cadet Table Tennis Championships, beating South Korea 3-2 to assure themselves of at least a silver.
The result also helped the team to directly qualify for the World Junior Championships to be held in Thailand in November. China blanked out Taipei 3-0 and will take on India in the final.
Top three teams at the continental event here qualify for the Worlds but with no third-place playoff, the third team’s fate will be decided on the individual players’ performance from Tapei and Kore, the bronze medallists and other teams including Japan.
In the individual events, Japanese players stand a good chance to qualify as the third squad for the Worlds. PTI
Indian boys win silver
Sep 5, 2019: The Times of India
Indian boys settle for silver at junior Asian TT event
Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia):
The Indian boys team settled for a silver medal at the Asian Junior and Cadet Championships after losing the final 0-3 to top seed China but the second-place helped them qualify for the World Junior Championships. Raegan Albuquerque went down 7-11, 8-11, 9-11 to Xu Yingbin. India's No. 1 player Manush Shah was patchy to begin with against world No. 6 Xiang Peng who beat the Indian left-hander 7-11, 12-10, 5-11, 9-11. In the third singles, Anukram Jain lost to Liu Yebo 11-6, 11-4, 11-5.
Payas wins silver
Kabeer Khan, Sep 8, 2019: The Times of India
For the last couple of months, Payas Jain and his coaches were uncertain about the teenager playing in the cadets (U-15) division or junior (U-18) division. He was mostly playing in the senior events. The 14-year old paddler’s cadet ranking thus plunged from World No. 4 to 18.
On Saturday, Payas won the silver medal in the Asian Junior and Cadet Table Tennis Championships in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. In the final, the Delhi-based paddler went down 0-4 to World No. 1 and top seed, Yuanyu Chen of China. On his way to the final, Payas, seeded seventh, beat fourth seed Izaac Quek Yong of South Korea in the quarterfinals. But Payas was no match for Yaunyu who won the match 13-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-5 within 20 minutes.
The silver medal has ensured Payas a place in the Asian team for World Cadet Challenge that will be held at Wladyslawowo (Poland) in October. “My confidence was low coming in to the singles’ competition because I had not even won a game in the team event (on Tuesday). I played well but today, I could not match my opponent’s strategy,” said Payas. Earlier this year, he had won a silver in the team’s event in Bahrain Open.
Commonwealth Championships
Indian women enter semis
Sam.Chakraborty, July 19, 2019: The Times of India
Hosts India continued to make merry on the second day of the 21st Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships at Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, as the women’s outfit booked their place in the semifinals with a clinical display.
Clubbed in Group F with Malaysia, Wales and Nigeria for the second round of team events, the Indian women’s squad came out firing on all cylinders as they blanked the Welsh team 3-0. Madhurika Patkar received an early scare from Wales’ Charlotte Carey, when she dropped the first game before wrapping up her tie 5-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-8. Reigning national champion Archana Kamath, too, wasted little time in garnering an 11-8, 11-6, 11-7 victory over Carey’s teammate Beth Richards, before India’s Ayhika Mukhrejee beat Lara Whitton 11-3, 11-8, 11-7 to complete the rout.
More or less untested, the Indian women faced a stiffer challenge when they took on Malaysia in the afternoon, but the final score remained 3-0 despite Manika Batra and Patkar being stretched.
While Kamath registered a fine 11-6, 12-10, 11-6 win over Malaysia’s Tee Ai Xin, Batra lost two games in a see-saw battle before emerging winner with a 13-11, 8-11, 7-11, 12-10, 11-9 scoreline. Patkar, too, was stretched to the fifth game for her 11-8, 8-11, 11-2, 6-11, 11-5 victory over Alice Li Sian.
However, the Nigerian women looked out of place against an inform Indian outfit.
While Kamath dropped the first game against Offiong Edem, she rallied back to claim a 6-11, 11-4, 11-5, 11-8 win over the Nigerian. Ajoke N Ojumo, too, suffered the same fate against Batra as the world No. 56 eked out a comfortable 11-3, 11-4, 11-3 victory. India’s Sutirtha Mukherjee completed the formalities with an 11-4, 11-8, 11-8 triumph over Cecilia Akan. Following suit, Indian men’s team, placed in Group F with Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Wales, thrashed Lankans 3-0 with Anthony Amalraj scoring a 11-5, 11-6, 11-3 win over Krishan Wickramarathna in the first match of the tie, while world No. 24 G Sathyan cruised to an 11-5, 11-3, 11-4 victory over Nirmala Jayasinghe. Manav Thakkar initially found the going tough but eventually prevailed in a four-game win over his Lankan opponent Milinda Lakshitha 8-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-1.
Much like their female counterparts, Malaysia’s men’s team, too, suffered a 0-3 loss to India, with Amalraj starting the proceedings again with a 7-11, 12-10, 11-7, 11-8 win over Feng Chee Leong. Achanta Sharath Kamal broke little sweat in his 11-9, 11-8, 11-6 victory over Malaysia’s MAH Muhamad Rizal, while Harmeet Desai completed the rout with an 11-2, 11-4, 11-4 win over Qi Shen Wong.
India sweeps team titles
Sam Chakraborty, July 20, 2019: The Times of India
It was fabulous for India under lights at Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium as both the men’s and women’s team clinched gold at the 21st Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships.
Up against a resilient England, the hosts led by Achanta Sharath Kamal came back from the brink to clinch the rubber 3-2. While Sharath himself lost the first tie against England’s Thomas Jarvis 7-11, 8-11, 4-11, G Sathiyan went down to Samuel Walker 11-5, 11-9, 4-11, 8-11, 8-11.
Down 0-2, the onus was on 26-year-old birthday boy Harmeet Desai to pull his team out of the rut. Desai overcame David McBeath’s challenge 4-11, 11-5, 8-11, 11-8, 11-8 to kickstart India’s comeback. Sathiyan returned for the fourth tie against Jarvis to record an 11-2, 6-11, 11-4, 11-4 win, before Sharath claimed the deciding fifth tie 15-13, 12-10, 11-6, against Walker to land men’s third title in this tournament.
The women’s team claimed their maiden title blanking their English counterparts 3-0. Archana Kamath began the proceedings with an 8-11, 13-11, 11-9, 11-9 win over England’s Ho Tin-Tin, while Manika Batra, battling a viral infection, made it 2-0 for India with an 11-6, 11-4, 11-3 triumph over Denise Payet. Madhurika Patkar completed the rout against Emily Bolton with an 11-6, 11-4, 11-3 win.
Manika withdraws from open events: World No. 56 Batra decided to withdraw from the open events due to illness. That forced a redrawal of the seedings list in the afternoon.
Sathiyan, Kamath win gold
Sam Chakraborty, July 22, 2019: The Times of India
India’s G Sathiyan and Archana Kamath won the mixed doubles gold at the Commonwealth Table Tennis championbship with consummate ease at Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium here on Sunday. The top-seeded duo defeated Singapore’s Yu En Koen Pang and Goi Rui Xuan 11-1, 11-7, 11-4 to win the Guernsey Cup. The Indian pair hardly gave the opposition any chance, racing to an 8-0 lead in the opening game and while Pang looked in good form, the Indian pair proved too strong for the occasion.
India also got the bronze medals as Kamath and Dathiyan had beaten Harmeet Desai and Ayhika Mukherjee 11-2, 11-2, 11-9 in the semifinal, while Koen Pang and Rui Xuan had beaten India’s Achanta Sharath Kamal and Sreeja Akula 13-11, 8-11, 6-1111-8, 11-4. Kamath, however, could not show the same form in her singles quarterfinal against Ho Tin-Tin. With Manika Batra out of the meet due to sickness, Tin-Tin became the top seed and the Englishwoman did not disappoint as she made short work of Kamath with an 11-9, 7-11, 11-5, 11-3, 11-6 win to enter the semis. The reigning senior national champion could not put up a resistance.
India’s Madhurika Patkar had no problem in dealing with compatriot Krittwika Sinha Roy, recording an 11-4, 9- 11, 11-8, 12-10, 11-9 victory over the Bengal girl. She will be joined in the last-four stage by Sreeja, who overcame a fighting Sutirtha Mukherjee in an all-India affair.
The former clinched the semis berth with an 11-5, 11-5, 11-9, 17-19, 6-11, 17-15 win. Ayhika Mukherjee became the third Indian entrant to the women’s singles semifinal, overcoming teammate Mousumi Paul, without breaking a sweat. Mukherjee scored an 11-6, 11-6, 11-2, 11-8 victory.
India finishes at top: 15 medals (7 gold)
Sam Chakraborty, July 23, 2019: The Times of India
The sound inside Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium was deafening. History had been scripted and India, still considered a minor power in the world of table tennis, had finally carved out a niche for themselves.
It was a marvellous Monday for the spectators and Indian players, with the hosts making a clean sweep of the seven gold medals on offer at the 21st Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships on the final day of the competition. Cutting across disciplines, India emerged as the unchallenged force in the tournament to finish with a tally of 15 medals.
Harmeet Desai, who had been instrumental in bringing India back from the dead during the team event final, played a spectacular game of table tennis against compatriot G Sathiyan to win gold in men’s singles final. The 26-year-old proved his mettle once again as he claimed a muchdeserved 9-11, 6-11, 11-5, 11-8, 17-15, 7-11, 11-9 win despite an initial struggle against the world No. 24. Sathiyan defeated England’s Thomas Jarvis 16-14, 11-6, 11-7, 11-9 in the semifinals while Desai overcame Singapore’s Yu En Keon Pang 10-12, 11-3, 11-6, 11-6, 11-2. Both Jarvis and Pang were recipient of bronze medals as losing semifinalists.
The women’s singles final saw India’s Ayhika Mukherjee steal a march over compatriot Madhurika Patkar to clinch gold. Mukherjee won 11-6, 11-4, 11-9, 19-17 despite a comeback from Patkar in the dying stages of the fourth game.
Medal tally: India: 7 gold, 5 silver, 3 bronze; England: 2 silver, 3 bronze; Singapore: 6 bronze; Malaysia: 1 bronze; Nigeria: 1 bronze
ITTF Challenge U-21: Thakkar wins title
Thakkar clinches ITTF Challenge Series U-21 title
Indian paddler Manav Thakkar on Sunday became the first Indian to clinch U-21 men’s singles title in an ITTF Challenge Series event with a comfortable win over Argentina's Martin Bentancor in Markham in Canada on Sunday. Thakkar beat his opponent 11-3, 11-5, 11-6 in the ITTF Challenge Plus Benemax-Virgo North American Open here. TNN/AGENCIES
ITTF World Championships
Suthirta, Manika advance
April 24, 2019: The Times of India
Indian qualifier Suthirta Mukherjee dug deep into her resources to tame German world No. 58 Sabine Winter 4-3 while super star Manika Batra savoured an easy win in the women's singles first round of the ITTF World Championships here Tuesday. CWG gold medallist Manika beat Andrea Todorovic of Serbia 14-12, 11-5,11-5,11-8,in the roundof 64.
Suthirta, ranked 502 in the world, used strong backhand counterstowin 8-11,17-15,11-9,5-11, 6-11, 11-8, 11-6 against the 26-year-old German. The 23-yearold was part of the gold-winning women squad at the CWG in Gold Coast. However, Archana Kamath and Madhurika Patkar bowed out of the women singles race. PTI
ITTF World Tour Hungarian Open
Silver, bronzes for India
February 24, 2020: The Times of India
Indian men’s doubles pair of Achanta Sharath Kamal and Gnanasekaran Sathiyan settled for a silver medal at the ITTF World Tour Hungarian Open after losing the summit clash to Germany’s Benedikt Duda and Patrick Franziska here. The Indian pair, which beat top seeds Ho Kwan Kit and Wong Chun Ting of Hong Kong in the semifinals, put up a strong effort in the summit clash but eventually lost 5-11, 9-11,11-8, 9-11tothe16thseedsGerman pair in a 30-minute showdown.
It is Sharath Kamal’s second medal from the prestigious tournament. He also won a bronze with Manika Batra in mixed doubles.
Meanwhile, Mathan Rajan Hansini bagged a bronze medal in the mini-cadet girls’ singles category at the Swedish Junior and Cadet Open in Orebro, Sweden. The 10-year-old Class V student started her main draw challenge after a couple of wins in the group stages before going down to Russia’s Iuliia Pugovkina 12-10, 9-11, 5-11, 8-11 in a gruelling semifinal match.
In the cadet girls’ singles section, another Indian, Suhana Saini reached the prequarterfinals. PTI
Luan Open
Ankita Raina reaches semi-finals
New Delhi: India’s Ankita Raina quelled a strong challenge from lower-ranked Eudice Wong Chong to make it to the singles semifinals of the ITF women’s event in Luan (China) on Friday. The second seeded Indian, ranked 175, beat her rival 2-6, 6-4, 7-5.
Oman Open: Bronze for Sathiyan; U-21 silver for Archana
March 24, 2019: The Times of India
G Sathiyan had a very narrow chance of turning it around but could not overcome a tough Mattias Flack of Sweden in the men’s singles semifinals of the ITTF Challenge Plus Oman Open. The fourth-seeded Indian lost 8-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-9, 9-11,11-9,10-12 and settled for the bronze medal.
In men’s doubles, Sathiyan and Achanta Sharath lost their quarterfinals to the Russian pair of Denis Ivonin and Vladimir Sidorenko.
Meanwhile, Archana Kamath’s excellent run in the Under-21 women’s singles section came to an end when she lost in straight games 7-11, 8-11, 6-11 to topseeded Japanese Satsuki Odo.
US Open: Mudit Dani wins bronze
Paddler Mudit Dani secures maiden ITTF medal
Indian paddler Mudit Dani clinched his maiden International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) senior medal after progressing to the men’s doubles semifinals in the US Open Championships in Fort Worth. Mudit, playing alongside Canada’s Marko Medjugorac, won 4-2 (11-9, 6-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-9, 11-9) against the US pairing of Tian Ye and Si Zhigao in the quarters. AGENCIES
2020
Harmeet claims maiden nat’l title
Hyderabad:
A seven-yearlong wait finally ended as Harmeet Desai clinched his maiden National men’s singles title. It was way back in 2013 that the young paddler had reached his first final but thereafter he couldn’t emulate that performance. Among women, Haryana’s Sutirtha Mukherjee clinched her second National crown with a 4-0 victory over Krittwika Sinha Roy of PSPB. She had earlier won the title at Ranchi in 2017.
Men’s team’s Olympics berth bid upset
TT: Oly setback for Indian men’s team
Gondomar: The Indian men's table tennis team's quest for an Olympic berth ended in disappointment after it suffered a 1-3 defeat to Czech Republic in a play-off match of the qualifying event here. The loss significantly reduced India's chances of qualifying for the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo.
Sharath-Sathiyan enter top-20 in doubles rankings
Sharath-Sathiyan enters top-20 in doubles rankings, March 8, 2020: The Times of India
New Delhi: The Indian doubles pair of Achanta Sharath Kamal and Gnanasekaran Sathiyan entered top-20 in the latest ITTF men's doubles world ranking, even as Anthony Amalraj broke into the singles top-100. The duo, who clinched silver medal in Hungarian Open table tennis tournament last month, jumped 20 places to claim 17th position. Tamil Nadu paddler Amlraj moved up seven positions to break into the top-100. In the women's singles rankings, Sutirtha Mukherjee made a massive jump of 51 spots to be at her career-best 109th position. The Kolkata paddler is now the second highest ranked Indian woman in the world rankings after Manika Batra, who went five places up to secure 62nd position Among the male players, Sathiyan is the highest ranked Indian at 31 in the singles rankings. PTI
Women’s team’s bid for Olympics berth ends
Indian women TT team’s bid for Tokyo Olympics berth ends
Indian women table tennis team’s quest for a Tokyo Olympics berth ended after losing to France 2-3 in a playoff match of the qualification tournament. The Indian women’s team had lost to Romania 2-3 in a pre-quarterfinal match on Friday. The Indian men’s team is slated to meet Czech Republic in their opening playoff match. AGENCIES
2021
Kazakhstan Open: 2 bronzes
Sep 20, 2021: The Times of India
The Indian pairs of Siddhesh Pande-Mudit Dani and Fidel R Snehit-Sudhanshu Grover had to be content with bronze medals after losing their respective men’s doubles semifinals at the ITTF Kazakhstan International Open in Karaganda. Both the pairs put up a great show throughout the tournament before suffering defeats in their respective semifinals.
While Maharashtra duo of Mudit and Siddhesh suffered a 0-3 loss against Saudi Arabian pair of Ali Alkhadrawi and Abdulaziz Bu Shulaybi, Snehit and Sudhanshu lost 2-3 to Kazakh pair of Alan Kurmangaliyev and Kirill Gerassimenko. PTI
WTT Contender, Budapest
Archiman Bhaduri, August 21, 2021: The Times of India
KOLKATA: A day after losing to a lower ranked player in the women's singles semifinal, India's table-tennis star Manika Batra showed great resilience in pairing up with G Sathiyan to win the mixed team event of the WTT Contender tournament in Budapest on Friday. The Indian duo beat the 94th-ranked Hungarian pair of Dora Madarasz and Nandor Ecseki 3-1 (11-9, 9-11, 12-10, 11-6).
It was a fantastic win especially given that Manika has not played much with Sathiyan as a partner. They combined well, losing just three games in their four rounds of play. Even in the final, they were hardly under any pressure except in the third game, in which their Hungarian rivals had a game point at 10-9 but couldn't convert. That was the only time they came close to getting the better of the Indians.
Manika and Sathiyan gained 400 points from this tournament win. "It is great that we were able to win the event with very little practice. It certainly shows what we can achieve as a pair. We were quite tactical and seemed to complement each other's game," Sathiyan said.
However, Manika fumbled against World No. 415 Elizabet Abraamian of Russia in the semifinals of the women's singles event. Although the Delhi girl lost 0-4 (12-10, 11-9, 12-10, 10-8), the contest was a close one. However, the 18-year-old reigning European U-19 champion managed to pull through the tough points in the end. In the first and third game, Manika was leading 10-9 but Abraamian made gusty comebacks.
Sathiyan will play in the Czech Open later this week while Manika will return home to be back in action at the Asian Championships in September-October.
