Indian Women's Table Tennis Team Assures First-Ever Medal at Asian Championships; Ayhika Mukherjee, Manika Batra Star As India Secure 3–2 Victory Against South Korea To Qualify for Semifinal
In the deciding fifth rubber, Jeon Jihee took the lead but Ayhika Mukherjee came back from behind to win the contest 3-1 (7-11, 11-6, 12-10, 12-10) and sealed the match for her team. Earlier, Manika Batra won a rubber against Jeom Jihee but lost against Shin Yubin.
India Women's National Table Tennis team creates history as they ensure their first ever medal at the Asian Championship as they defeated South Korea in the quarterfinal clash of the 2024 edition and progress to the semifinal. It was not a easy encounter as South Korea are the silver medallist of the recent Paris Olympics 2024. Yet, India came from behind to beat South Korea 3-2 in the quarterfinals of the Asian Table Tennis Championships 2024 in Astana, Kazakhstan on Tuesday. India made it to the quarterfinal of the Paris Olympics 2024 where they lost to Germany. After a short break where the Indian paddlers were preparing themselves in the Ultimate Table Tennis and the China Smash, they are now back stronger than ever. Indian Paddlers Win 27 Medals Including Six Gold in WTT Youth Contender in Saudi Arabia.
The credits to the historic victory go to Ayhika Mukherjee, who was in the bench in the Paris Olympics 2024 as she lost her place to Archana Kamath due to having lesser rankings than the latter. With Archana leaving for her higher studies, Ayhika got her deserved opportunity and she shined by defeating Korean stars Shin Yubin and Jeon Jihee and ensuring India won the tie and progressed to the semifinal, which has now assured them of a historic first medal in the Asian Championship. Archana Kamath Quits Table Tennis To Study Economics at the University of Michigan After Representing India in Paris Olympics 2024.
India was handed a 2-0 lead in the tie after Ayhika and Manika Batra recorded hard-fought victories in their respective matches. While the Bengal paddler beat Shin Yubin 11-9, 7-11, 12-10, 7-11, 11-7, the Delhi-born player got the better of Jeon Jihee 12-14, 13-11, 11-5, 5-11, 12-10. But when things seemed in control, Korea came back in the game defeating Sreeja Akula who recently came back from injury and Manika Batra. Lee Eunhye and Shin Yubin won the two matches respectively. In the deciding match, Ayhika kept her cook and defeated Jeon Jihee to help India win the tie.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 08, 2024 05:44 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).