Asian Games 2023, table tennis: Indian men's team hammers Singapore
What's the story
Indian men's table tennis team registered consecutive wins against Yemen and Singapore at the 2023 Asian Games. They won both matches with conviction. The male paddlers defeated Singapore 3-1. Sathiyan Gnanasekaran starred with wins over Izaac Yong and Yew Koen Pang, while Harmeet Desai also registered a win. Surprisingly, Sharath Kamal lost his clash against Ze Clarence Chew Earlier, India won 3-0 against Yemen.
Sathiyan Gnanasekaran
Sathiyan hands India a fine start
Sathiyan handed India the early lead with a great win over Izaac Yong. He started slow as he lost the first game but roared back by winning three consecutive games to encounter. Sathiyan won the match 5-11, 12-10, 11-6, 11-9. He gave India a fine lead as it allowed his compatriots to play more freely knowing they have started brilliantly.
Harmeet Desai
Harmeet digs deep to win against Pang
Harmeet had a commanding start to the game as he was on the attack right from the start against Yew Koen Pang. The 30-year-old fought back a four-point deficit to bag the first game. He also claimed the second game. However, Harmeet's intensity dropped and he lost the next two games to eventually bag the decider. He won 12-10, 11-8, 6-11, 6-11, 11-5.
Sharath Kamal
Sharath Kamal lost against Ze Clarence Chew
It was not the best of starts for Sharath Kamal as he lost the first two games against Chew. However, the veteran paddler fought his way back to win the third game. But he couldn't continue the fight in the fourth game and as a result he lost the match. Sharath Kamal lost the clash 11-13, 8-11, 12-10, 11-5 as Singapore pulled one back.
Sathiyan Gnanasekaran
Sathiyan continues his sublime form
Sathiyan started on the back foot against Pang but soon retaliated to take away the first game. He also had the lead in the second game which he squandered as Pang equalized. After a valiant fight, Sathiyan won the third game. The Indian paddler carried that momentum as he clinched the fourth game and India defeated Singapore 3-1. He won 11-7, 10-12, 11-9, 11-6.
Yemen
Indian men's team clean sweep Yemen
Earlier in the day, the Indian men's team cleaned up Yemen 3-0 to start their campaign in China. Sathiyan started with an 11-3, 11-2, 11-6 win over Ali Omar Ahmed. Sharath made it 2-0 with a win over Ebrahim Abdulhakim Gubran by a scoreline of 11-3, 11-4, 11-6. Ultimately, Harmeet bagged a dominating 11-1, 11-1, 11-7 win over Magd Ahmed Ali Aldhubhani.
Information
Indian men's team aiming to win second Asian Games medal
India have won two medals at the Asian Games which came in the last edition in Jakarta 2018. Indian men's team won the bronze medal there along with the mixed doubles bronze of Sharath and Manika Batra. The men's team want to replicate that feat.