Revision as of 14:40, 18 May 2021

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

India at the 2015 Commonwealth Table Tennis Championship: some results; Graphic courtesy: 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.

Manav no.2 junior, 17 Indians in world top-50

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 world No. 1

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

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

Sathiyan highest-ranked Indian at 28, Manika breaks into top-50, January 31, 2019: The Times of India

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.

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 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

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.

2020

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