Indian Women’s team clinch sixth position, mixed pairs bow out

The Indian women’s team finished sixth in the Asian Table Tennis Championships after being blanked 0-3 by Thailand on Tuesday. The Indians beat Singapore 3-2 in a 5-8 positions match before going down to Thailand in the fifth-position showdown. Against Singapore, Manika Batra began well against Jingyi Zhou (11-9, 11-3, 11-6) to put the team on the right path, but Sreeja Akula’s loss (7-11, 6-11, and 7-11) to Jian Zeng gave the rivals a lifeline. However, Ayhika Mukjerjee’s win against Ru Xin Wong provided India a 2-1 lead. In the reverse singles, Manika failed to overcome Jian Zeng and lost 8-11, 6-11, 7-11, putting pressure on Sreeja to make amends for her earlier loss. And the Hyderabadi pulled off a 3-1 (12-10, 11-3, 9-11, 11-6) win over Jingyi to redeem the team’s chances. But the Thai denied the team as Suthasini Sawettabutt accounted for Sreeja 11-6, 11-5, 11-6, then Orawan Paranang downed Manika 11-4, 8-11, 11-4, 11-6 before Wanwisa Aueawiriyayothin overcame Diya Chitale 15-13, 8-11, 4-11, 11-9, 11-8 to grab the fifth position.