India disappointed in duel, only Sathiyan and Ayhika Mukherjee advance to next round

India disappointedly started the table tennis World Cup duel on Tuesday (November 23rd). The event was held at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, USA.

No Indian paddler except Gnanasekaran Sathiya and Ayhika Mukherjee in the men’s and women’s singles were able to advance to the next round.

Sathiyan started his World Cup table tennis campaign in the prevailing way. Tamil Nadu’s paddler, who competed in the WTT Contenders in Tunis behind the gold medal-winning performance, beat Swedish Yarusav Zhmudenko in live series. He won 4-0 on 11-2, 11-9, 11-4, 11-3 to advance to the next round.

37th on the world list, Sathiyan will face Russia’s Vladimir Sidorenko next.

Also read: Table Tennis World Championships: when and where to watch, ticket information

However, other paddling times for Indian men did not keep up the pace and fell on the first day of the World Table Tennis Championships.

Amalraj Anthony was close to advancing to the next round, but the challenge for Nigerian Bode Abiodun was too much for the Indian. He lost 3-4 in a nerve-wracking match.

Harmeet Desai and Achanta Sharath Kamal struggled in their own matches. Harmeet lost 0-4 to Germany in 45th place for Benedikt Duda. Sharath, on the other hand, lost 1-4 to Cedric Nuytinck of Germany.

Nevertheless, Sharath Kamal’s campaign at the World Table Tennis Championships is still alive as she advanced to the next round of mixed doubles. In partnership with Archana Kamath, Sharath defeated Sami Kherouf and Katia Kessac 3-0.

Also read: Sathiyan aims for World Cup medal after Asian bronze

Manika Batra out, Ayhika Mukherjee progresses in women’s singles table tennis world championships

In the women’s singles, India’s best paddlers Manika Batra and Sutirtha Mukherjee bowed out of the competition.

Manika Batra looked good at the start of the game and took the lead in the first two sets. However, he lost the next three rounds against Brazilian Bruna Takahashi. Batra managed to beat the Brazilian paddler in the sixth installment, but was unable to take the momentum forward in the decisive installment.

Sutirtha Mukherjee was a disappointment, however. Although he won the first set, he lost the next four to Choi Hyojoo of Korea. The Indian table tennis player didn’t even manage to open the goal in the fourth set.

However, there was good news in the women’s singles when Ayhika Mukherjee defeated Egyptian Farah Abdel-Aziz 4-2.

Table Tennis World Cup results

Men’s singles games

Sathiyan vs Yaruslav Zhmudenko (Sweden) 4-0

Amalraj Anthony vs Bode Abiodun (NIG) 3-4

Harmeet Desia vs Benedikt Duda (GER) 0-4

Sharath Kamal vs Cedric Nuytinck (GER) 1-4

Women’s singles games

Madhurika Patkar vs Saki Shibata (JAP) 0-4

Manika Batra vs Bruna Takahashi (BRA) 3-4

Sutirtha Mukherjee vs Choi Hyojoo (KOR) 1-4

Ayhika Mukherjee vs Farah Abdel-Aziz (EGY) 4-2

Mixed doubles

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Sharath Kamal / Archana Kamath vs. Sami Kherouf / Katia Kessaci 3-0