The Indian women’s table tennis team assured themselves of their first ever medal at the Asian Championships, after they managed to get past a strong South Korean team 3-2 in the quarters. It must be clarified that the latter are the bronze medalists from the Paris Olympics.
Ayhika Mukherjee Reigns Supreme
Firstly, it was World No. 92 Ayhika Mukherjee, who posted a stunning World No. 8 Shin Yubin and World No. 16 Jeon Jihee in the match. Meanwhile, it all started with Ayhika and Manika Batra scripting wins their first two matches. Thereafter, the Koreans made a comeback and equalised with 2-2.
What is interesting is, Ayhika Mukherjee is the same player, who was overlooked for Archana Kamath, at the Paris Olympics, where India lost in the quarters. But here, at the Asian Championships, she proved her worth. This is also not the first time that Ayhika has beaten a top player. She had beat the World No.1 Sun Yingsha at the World Team Championships, earlier in the year.
First she beat Shin Yuben 11-9, 7-11, 12-10, 7-11, 11-7. Spot that, Manika beat 12-14, 13-11, 11-5, 5-11, 12-10, the 16th-ranked Jeon Jihee. But Sreeja Akula lost to Lee Eunhye in straight games — 6-11, 10-12, 8-11. Yubin then levelled the tie with a scrappy 13-11, 11-4, 6-11, 7-11, 12-10 win over Manika. In the last match of the tie, Ayhika downed Jinhee 7-11, 11-6, 12-10, 12-10 to secure their historic medal.
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