Top five Indian performers at the Asian Table Tennis Championships

This was the country’s best-ever performance in a race.

The 2021 Asian Table Tennis Championships were held at Qatar’s Lusail Sports Arena. Indian paddlers return home after recording their best-ever campaign in the Continental Race. The country won the medal for the first time in the tournament. In fact, they come home by winning a total of three medals, all of which are bronze.

An Indian table tennis team had traveled to Qatar behind their best-ever campaign at the Tokyo Olympics. They continued the pace despite one of the country’s biggest stars, Manika Batra. Several of them produced great performances in various categories, earning thanks from fans and experts.

Here are the best Indian performers at the 2021 Asian Table Tennis Championships.

5. Sutirtha Mukherjee

In the absence of Manika Batra, the biggest name among Indian paddlers was Sutirtha Mukherjee. He showed great tones at all the events he attended. Sutirtha was the driving force in achieving the overall wins for the Indian women’s team from Jordan and Nepal in the group stage. In the quarterfinals against Japan, he defeated Miyu Nagasaki in a great way that went all the way to the end. However, his compatriots failed to deliver, as a result of which the Indian team fell.

The women’s couple’s event saw her partner with Ayhika Mukherjee. A nice 3-0 victory was taken in the 32nd round against Kazakh duo Anastassiya Lavrova and Anel Bakhyt. In the quarterfinals, he and Ayhika defeated Chinese Taipei Chen Szu-Yun and Li Yu-Jhun 3-1. In the semi-finals, the Indian duo faced the Japanese Miyu Nagasaki and Ando Minam, where they were defeated 3-2.

Sutirtha also showed her class at the women’s singles event. He started his campaign with a routine win over Qatar’s Ali Mahan 3-0. The second 3-0 loss was shared by Mongolian Bolor-Erdene Batmunkh in round 64. Ando Minami was again Sutirthan’s Achilles heel as he lost to the Japanese star 3-1 in 32 rounds. The 25-year-old had a progressive tournament after paying attention to a performance at the Tokyo Olympics.

4. Harmeet Desai

The gold medalist at the 2018 Commonwealth Games came to this tournament because he was unable to get a ticket to the Tokyo Olympics. He was part of the Indian men’s team that won bronze in the Asian Table Tennis Championship. In a duel with Sreeja Akula, they defeated Ramhimlia Bawmin of Bangladesh and Sadia Rahman Muun 3-0 in the first match. The fourth round was a tough test and despite their best efforts, they lost 3-1 to Hong Kong’s Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Kemi.

In the men’s singles, the 28-year-old played Qatar’s Ahmed Alawlaq in his first match. The Indian paddler won nicely 3-0 to advance. However, a 3-1 loss to Iranian Nima Alamian halted his single campaign. The men’s doubles class showed their true ability.

Harmet’s partner was Manav Vikash Thakkar at this event. After the first round throw, they lost Singapore Rafanael Nikola Niman and Fikri Faqih Fadilah 3-0 in 32 rounds. A similar victory over strong Saudi opponents Naif Al-Jadai and Abdulaziz Al-Abbad further underscored their goals. .

Harmeet won some revenge for their single kill by beating Iran’s Nima Alamian and Noshad Alamiyan 3-0 in the quarters. Despite a loss to South Korean Jang Woo-jin and Lim Jong-hoon in the semi-finals, Harmeet managed to win bronze in the men’s singles.

3. Manav Vikash Thakkar

The 21-year-old is one of the brightest youngsters in Indian table tennis. Manav Vikash Thakkar defied his age several times in the tournament, showing maturity on the table against much more experienced opponents. The biggest example of this is the men’s doubles semi-final against the much better South Korea.

At the start of the race, it looked like Manav and Harmeet fell pretty easily when they lost their first two games overall. But they completely changed the scenario in the third and fourth games. They showed tremendous effort and determination to secure victories in those tightly fought games.

The end of the match itself was a great achievement against a much-loved Korean duo. Again, the Indians gave their all, but were left short. Harmeet and Manav bowed after a 4-11, 6-11, 12-10, 11-9, 8-11 defeat. The Titanic battle lasted 44 minutes. The show shows that once they had confirmed the bronze medal, they were hungry more and were not afraid to go toes against the Koreans against the Koreans.

Manavi’s performances in mixed doubles were equally impressive. In collaboration with Archana Girish Kamath, they got the first round. Round 32 defeated Serong Od Gankhuyag and Undram Munkhbag from Mongolia. Another stylish performance came in the 3-2 quarter-finals victory over Kazakhstan Kirill Gerassimenko and Anastassiya Lavrova. Once again, Manav was close to the semi-finals, but exited the mixed stage with a 3-1 victory over Hong Kong Ho Kwan Kit and Lee Ho Ching.

In addition, the young Indian paddler had also won Qatar’s Fahed Almughanne and Mohamed Shaffan from the Maldives in the men’s singles. Manav Vikash Thakkar certainly has a bright future ahead and is a valued asset in Indian table tennis right now.

2. Sathiyan Gnanasekaran

Sathiya Gnanasekaran was disappointed at the Tokyo Olympics after suffering a shock. However, he left a disappointment behind when he won the Czech Open in September 2021. Sathiyan grabbed two other medals from the men’s team and the men’s singles from the Asian Table Tennis Championship.

28-year-old partner Sharath Kamal defeated Ahmed Alawlaq and Fahed Almughanne in the 32nd round. The octave draw was a tough battle 3-2 for Kirill Gerassimenko and Alan Kurmangaliyev. The stunning run continued with a live game victory over Singapore pair Chew Zhe Yu Clarence and Beh Kun Ting. Despite a semi-final loss to winners Shunsuke Togam and Japanese Yukiya Uda, he will add a bronze medal to his collection.

In the men’s singles, Sathiyan saw the challenge of Naif Al-Jadai of Saudi Arabia and Ahmad Khalil Al-Mohannad of Qatar. Japan’s Kazuhiro Yoshimura’s 3-1 loss ended his singles campaign. It is fair to say that Sathiya Gnanasekaran had a good enough tournament, but there is still room for improvement.

1. Sharath Kamal

Prior to the Asian Table Tennis Championships, Sharath Kamal had stated that India has a great chance of finally ending the medal drought in the continental competition in 2021. Indian paddlers did just that in Doha. Sharath was at the forefront of success.

In the men’s team quarterfinals against Iran, he had nicely beat Nima Alamian and put the Indian driver in the spot. However, when Harmeet Desai lost the draw in the third match, the Indians ’head was easy to drop. Sharath Kamal decided to take matters into their own hands and play their second match. He used all his experience to defeat Noshad Alamiyan in a fierce battle.

In the singles matches, the Indian ace defeated Mohammadali of Iran to Rouintanesfahan, Zokhiri Dzhalil of Tajikistan and Mohammed Abdulwahhab of Qatar to reserve a place in the quarterfinals. In all of these matches, he didn’t drop a single game. The quarter-final loss to South Korean Lee Sang-su ended the march. At the age of 39, Sharath Kamal continues to hunt for increasing success, and winning the first continental medals of her career is a testament to this.

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