Indians fail to reach semi-finals at Asian TT

After Soumyajit Ghosh had given his team a perfect start with a win over Yuya Oshima (711, 11-7, 11-6, 8-11, 11-6), Achanta Sharath Kamal held a total of three match points in the fourth game against Koki Niwa before losing (11-1, 6-11, 8-11, 14-12, 12-10). 

The agony continued as Harmeet Desai, despite leading 2-1 and 10-all in the fourth game against Kenta Matsudaira, went down in a five-game defeat (5-11, 8-11, 11-2, 14-12, 11-6). But Sharath returning with vengeance beat Yuya Oshima (11-8, 11-13, 11-5, 6-11, 11-6) to set an intriguing battle between Ghosh and Koki Niwa to settle the issue. 

Ghosh began well but eventually lost as the verdict went in favour of Koki Niwa who won 9-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-4, to be the hero of the hour. India, who subsequently, lost the 5-6 positions match against Hong Kong 0-3 will now play for the 7-8 positions on Wednesday. 

Meanwhile, the Indians had something to gain from the team championships, having beaten DPR Korea 3-2 in the first division final and for the first time ever. This came as a consolation for the Indians who had surpassed their expectations earlier, taking the Japanese to the brink.