The Indian Men’s Table Tennis has done the unthinkable at the Asian Games 2018, reaching the semi finals of the team event and securing a first ever medal in the sport for the country at the Asiad. They beat Japan 3-1 in a pulsating encounter here at the Table Tennis arena in Jakarta.
Full scorecard:
Sathiyan G (#33) v Jin Ueda (#28) 11-9, 11-9, 11-7
Sharath Kamal (#39) v Kenta Matsudaira (#19) 11-8, 12-10, 11-8
Harmeet Desai (#99) v Masaki Yoshida (#57) 11-9, 12-14, 11-8, 8-11, 4-11
Sathiyan G (#33) v Kenta Matsudaira (#19) 12-10, 6-11, 11-7, 11-4
The team comprising of Harmeet Desai, Achanta Sharath Kamal, G. Sathiyan, Amalraj and Manav Thakkar has put Indian Table Tennis on the global map with his emphatic win.
The team were up against the number 2 seed Japan, who were without Harimoto, but still had higher ranked players than India in their contingent. India largely br
Sathiyan romped to a wonderful win over Ueda Jin in the opening match of the quarter final, giving India hope, as Ueda Jin is ranked in the top 30 in the world.
Sharath Kamal then stepped up to the plate to brush aside the challenge of the Tomahawk king, Kenta Matsudaira(ranked 19 in the world) to give India a 2-0 lead.
It was then upto the fiery Harmeet Desai to take India home with a win over Masaki Yoshida. Harmeet was firing on all cylinders all through the match but just couldn’t pull through in the decider, losing 3-2 to the world no. 57.
India’s wait for an Asian Games Table Tennis medal stretched a little longer. But Sathiyan ensured that the minor hiccup did not hurt India’s chance of creating history.
The World no.33, Sathiyan played some breathtaking and confident Table Tennis to knock over Matsudaira(3 games to 1) and send India into dreamland.
Indian Table Tennis has been on the rise in the last couple of years and has seen a lot of highs, but this achievement has to rank right up there with the best.
This is how Twitter reacted:
And that’s the joy of winning!!! Semi finals it is!!! So proud of our men’s #tabletennis team!! 👏🇮🇳
It will be a podium finish at the #AsianGames2018
HISTORY IS MADE! @sathiyantt @sharathkamal1 @HarmeetDesai #Amalraj #ManavThakkar
Congratulations @ttfitweet @Media_SAI pic.twitter.com/NE0aKKNWdZ
— Neha Aggarwal (@nehaaggarwal) August 27, 2018
HISTORY! A TT MEDAL IS COMING HOME. Men’s Table Tennis team assured of first ever #AsianGames TT medal for India, after beating Japan in quarters. They Battled gruelling schedule with 3 ties in a day (vs Macau, Vietnam and Japan) and beat higher ranked players. Whattay.
— jigar mehta (@jigsactin) August 27, 2018
Winning moments 💪💪
Thanks @sumanth_nagaraj for all the fantastic updates!! #tabletennis #AsianGames2018 pic.twitter.com/gM0FpFdfaL
— Neha Aggarwal (@nehaaggarwal) August 27, 2018
He wins it pic.twitter.com/NTIiObgYAF
— Sumanth Nagaraj (@sumanth_nagaraj) August 27, 2018
INCREDIBLE INDIA 🇮🇳!! #TeamIndia knocks out #TeamJapan 3-1 to be guanranteed a historic podium finish at #AsianGames2018!! #FirstEverMedal pic.twitter.com/EL1kOGNg3y
— ITTF World (@ittfworld) August 27, 2018
Massive props to the team! This is a fitting reward for the phenomenal year they have had.
Well done, @sathiyantt, @sharathkamal1, @HaremeetDesai and the rest of the team.#TableTennis
— Vinayakk (@vinayakkm) August 27, 2018
Special win for each one of them!
Sharath- Still making history while ppl ask him to retire👏
Sathiyan- Top form 👌
Harmeet – Biggest win despite loosing his match
Manav Thakkar – 1st mega event & a historic medal!
Amalraj – Man who dreamt this day always#AsianGames2018 https://t.co/1HmwpUq3qH
— Neha Aggarwal (@nehaaggarwal) August 27, 2018
In a sport that is dominated by the Asian countries, this result is massive for Indian Table Tennis.
