Asian Table Tennis Championships 2023: India settles for bronze after losing to Chinese Taipei

The Indian men’s table tennis team lost to Chinese Taipei by 0-3 and secured a bronze medal in the ITTF Asian Table Tennis Championship semi-final on Wednesday.

Disappointing day for India

In a disappointing match, India’s most experienced paddler, Sharath Kamal, started the proceedings and was handed a 6-11, 6-11, 9-11 defeat by Chang Chin-Yuan, while Sathiyan Gnanasekaran went down 5-11, 6-11, 10-12 to world number 7 Lin Yun-Ju as the Indian team trailed 0-2.

On the other hand, India’s current top-ranked men’s singles player gave some hope as Harmeet Desai took a game off Kao Cheng-Jui, the Chinese Taipei, seeded second, secured the win with 11-6, 11-7, 7-11, 11-9.

Overall, none of the mixed double pairs went past R32, with Sathiyan and Manika losing in their opening round. Manika suffered a leg injury, and after that, she didn’t look at her best, with the duo losing the battle in five sets.

At the Asian Championships, the losing semifinalists are also awarded bronze medals. Two years ago, the third-seed Indian men’s team finished with a bronze in the previous edition of the Doha Championships.

Earlier in the quarterfinal, the men’s team defeated Singapore 3-0 to confirm a medal. In the opening singles match, Sharath handed defeat to Izaac Quek. Sathiyan then defeated Yew En Koen Pang to give India a 2-0 lead in the final-eight clash. Harmeet Desai then finished the proceedings by thrashing Zhe Yu Clarence Chew in three straight games.