India’s women’s and men’s table tennis teams booked their places in the quarterfinals of the Asian Games after recording identical 3-0 wins over Pakistan on Monday.
The women’s team produced a dominant performance at Sky Hall, completing a comfortable win to finish at the top of Group F. It was India’s third straight victory in the group stage and came without dropping a single match against their Pakistani opponents.
Sutirtha Mukherjee got India off to a strong start in the opening match. The Hangzhou Asian Games bronze medallist in women’s doubles made light work of Aleena Khan, winning 11-3, 11-3, 11-4 in just 10 minutes.
India then moved within one win of sealing the tie as 17-year-old Syndrela Das continued her impressive run. She defeated Kalsoom Khan 11-6, 11-7, 11-5 to give India a 2-0 lead.
Syndrela earned her place in the senior team after a strong run on the domestic circuit. The teenager, currently ranked 99th in the ITTF women’s singles rankings, showed no signs of pressure as she comfortably handled her opponent.
Sreeja Akula then finished the job for India. She beat Fatima Khan 11-4, 11-4, 11-5 in 11 minutes to seal the 3-0 victory and send the team into the last-eight stage.
The men’s team also returned to winning ways with a convincing 3-0 victory over Pakistan later in the day.
India had suffered a setback against Iran in their opening match, but there was little trouble against Pakistan as they controlled the tie from the beginning.
World No. 97 Harmeet Desai gave India the perfect start by beating Muhammad Khan 11-4, 11-3, 11-5. The experienced Indian player did not allow his opponent any chance to settle and wrapped up the match in straight games.
Captain G Sathiyan then extended India’s lead. The world No. 82 defeated Abbas Khan 11-1, 11-8, 11-9 to leave India one win away from completing the sweep.
Payas Jain completed the job in the third match, beating the other Muhammad Khan 11-2, 11-5, 11-7.
The result helped India recover from the disappointment against Iran and secure their place in the quarterfinals. Both Indian teams will now look to carry the momentum into the knockout stage as they continue their Asian Games campaign.
(With PTI inputs)
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