Indian Teams Shine at ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships
Indian Teams Excel in London Championships
Both the men's and women's table tennis teams from India have shown remarkable performance at the ongoing ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships in London, securing their second victories in the group stage. The women's team triumphed over Ukraine with a score of 3-2, while the men's team achieved a similar victory against Slovakia, as reported on Wednesday.
In their initial matches, the Indian women's squad won by walkover against Uganda, and the men's team dominated Tunisia with a clean sweep of 3-0.
Women's Team Triumphs Over Ukraine
In the women's event, Manika Batra, ranked 48th in the world, kicked off India's match positively by defeating Olympian Tetyana Bilenko 3-1 (11-9, 7-11, 11-6, 11-5). However, Yashaswini Ghorpade faced a setback against world number 51 Margaryta Pesotska, losing a close match 3-2 (11-7, 11-8, 1-11, 9-11, 11-9).
Diya Chitale then restored India's lead with a convincing 3-0 victory over Veronika Matiunina.
Manika returned for her second match but fell to Pesotska 3-1 (11-9, 5-11, 11-8, 11-6), leveling the score at 2-2.
Ghorpade stepped up in the decisive match, clinching the tie for India with a solid 3-1 (11-7, 11-9, 9-11, 11-7) win against Tetyana Bilenko.
The Indian women's team will face Rwanda next in their final Stage 1b Group 6 match on Thursday.
Men's Team Defeats Slovakia
In the men's competition, Manush Shah, ranked 51st, lost his match 3-2 (11-8, 5-11, 8-11, 11-5, 11-6) to Lubomir Pistej. However, Manav Thakkar quickly turned the tide for India with a 3-0 victory (11-6, 11-8, 11-6) over Jakub Zelinka.
Slovakia regained the lead when Olympian Yang Wang defeated Asian Games medalist Harmeet Desai 3-0 (16-14, 11-5, 11-9). Yet, Manav, returning for his second match, leveled the score again with another 3-0 win over Pistej.
Manush, who had previously lost, secured the tie for India by beating Zelinka 3-0 (11-8, 11-8, 11-7).
India's next challenge will be against Guatemala in their final Stage 1b Group 7 match.
The tournament features 64 teams divided into four groups of 16.