India’s Men and Women’s Table Tennis teams clinched dominant wins in their final group matches at the Asian Games on Saturday, 23rd September. Women’s Table Tennis team started the day with 3-0 win against Nepal. Diya Chitale, Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee clinched victories in straight games in the match.
The Men then sailed past Tajikistan with a 3-0 win. Manav Thakkar, Manush Shah and Harmeet Desai dominated in their respective matches. The Asian Games will officially begin with a grand opening ceremony at 5.30 PM
Also Read: Asian Games Opening Ceremony: Time, LIVE Streaming, Check All you need to know
Asian Games September 23 India Fixtures
Table Tennis
Men’s Team
India BEAT Tajikistan – 3-0
Women’s Team
India BEAT Nepal – 3-0
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Men’s Team – India vs Tajikistan
Starting the proceedings for India, Manav Thakkar wrapped up a win over Afzal Mahmudov in just 17 minutes. The Indian had an easier time of it in the second game, winning it 11-5. He deployed a slightly more aggressive approach against Mahmudov, eventually helping him take the second game with ease.
Manav Thakkar was trailing 4-6 at one stage, with Mahmudov forcing errors out of the Indian. However, a good recovery late in the game saw Manav Thakkar coast to an 11-8, 11-5, 11-8 win.
In the second match, Manush Shah defeated Ubaydullo Sultonov 13-11, 11-7, 11-5. Sultanov dominated the first game, opening up a 9-7 lead. However, Manush produced a fine comeback to reduce the lead to 9-9 with two quick points. Manush won the first game 13-11 after trailing initially.
He then won the next two games comfortably. In the third match, the star paddler of the tie, Harmeet defeated Ibrokhim Ismoilzoda 11-1, 11-3, 11-5 without breaking a sweat.
Women’s Team – India vs Nepal
Diya kicked off the proceedings for the Indian team against Nepal’s Sikka Shrestha. The Indian paddler didn’t waste a single moment to establish her dominance in the game.
Within a blink of an eye, she took away the first game by 11-1. She continued to ride on her confidence and took a comfortable five-point lead with the scores reading 7-2. Shrestha tried to stitch up a comeback but it wasn’t enough as Diya took away the second game by 11-6.
In the third game, Shrestha failed to put pressure on the Indian paddler as Diya sealed the third game by 11-8 and wrapped the first game quickly to hand India an early lead.
The second game began with Ayhika taking on Nabita Shrestha. Ayhika stole away the first game in six minutes by 11-3. Nabita put up a challenge to Ayhika in the second game. But the Indian paddler rose to the challenge and took away the second game with 11-7. Nabita lacked intensity in the third game which allowed Ayhika to walk away with a 11-2 win and give India a 2-0 lead over Nepal in the match.
Sutirtha stepped to face Evana Thapa Magar in the third match. Sutirtha didn’t allow Evana to breathe for a single moment as she made the scoreline read 8-0 in her favour within a flash. Evana managed to take a single point in the first game as the Indian took a comfortable 11-1 victory in the first game.
A similar story unfolded in the second and third games as Sutirtha won the second game by 11-5 and 11-2 respectively. With this victory, India sealed their place in the next round with a 3-0 win over Nepal.
