Asian Games 2023, table tennis: Indian men's team beats Kazakhstan
Indian men's table tennis team edged past Kazakhstan 3-2 in the round of 16 at the 2023 Asian Games. Sharath Kamal was the hero as he won the decider to help India progress to the quarter-finals. Sathiyan Gnanasekaran won his first match before losing his second while Harmeet Desai won his solitary clash. The reigning Bronze medallists have entered the last eight. Here's more.
Sharath started off with a defeat
Sharath has not been at his best at this event and it reflected in his defeat against Kirill Gerassimenko. He started slowly and conceded the first game before fighting back to win the second game. But the Kazakh lifted his level and defeated Sharath in the third game. The fourth game was tight but Gerassimenko reigned supreme. Sharath lost 8-11, 11-9, 6-11, 8-11.
Sathiyan Gnanasekaran brought India to level terms
Sathiyan made no mistake against Aidos Kenzhigulov. The experienced Indian paddler held his nerve to win a thriller in the first game. He carried that momentum to bag the second game as well. Sathiyan finished off the match with a dominant third-game victory. He brought India to level terms after Sharath conceded the lead. Sathiyan won the clash 14-12, 11-8, 11-4.
Harmeet Desai continued his fine form
India's highest-ranked paddler, Harmeet blew away his opponent Alan Kurmanguliyev. Harmeet started off with a confident first game. He had to fight hard to bag the second game. With more confidence, Harmeet killed off the clash by easily taking away the third game. The 30-year-old handed India a 2-1 lead over Kazakhstan. Harmeet won his encounter 11-7, 12-10, 11-5.
Sathiyan faltered against Kirill Gerassimenko
Sathiyan, who had won his previous match, went down fighting against Kirill Gerassimenko. It was a back-and-forth affair which saw the Kazakh start brightly, taking the first game. But Sathiyan claimed the second game only to concede the third. However, the Indian paddler fought back in the fourth but lost the fifth game. Sathiyan lost 5-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-5, 5-11.
Sharath Kamal came from behind to win the decider
Sharath came from behind to win against Kenzhigulov in the crucial decider. The veteran Indian paddler never really asserted his dominance in the game and lost the first game. The Kazakh paddler bagged the second game as well. However, Sharath staged a comeback, winning the next two games. He held his nerves to complete the comeback. Sharath won 5-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-9.
Indian men's team eyeing second Asian Games medal
India topped Group F with wins over Yemen, Singapore and Tajikistan. They have now beaten Kazakhstan 3-2 to enter the quarter-finals. Notably, the Indian men's team bagged the bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Games. Hence, India are aiming to win another medal this time.
