Asian TT Championships: India men’s team settles for bronze

India was on Wednesday assured of a medal after beating Iran 3-1 in the quarter-finals. Both the semi-finalists secure bronze. In the last-four stage, the top-seeded South Koreans proved too good for the Indians, who failed to win a single match.

Beginning the proceedings for India, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran was pushed to the corner straightaway as World No.12 Woojin Jang dished out his ‘A’ game. The Korean eventually won 11-5, 10-12, 11-8, 11-5 to give his team the lead.

In contrast, Sharath Kamal Achanta began well only to squander a 2-1 advantage. The 39-year-old allowed World No.22 Lee Sangsu to come back, especially in the last two games, and post a 7-11, 15-13, 8-11, 11-6, 11-9 triumph.

Though Harmeet Desai did not start on a positive note against Seungmin Cho, he earned the momentum to lead 2-1 after three games. However, Harmeet went down by a scoreline of 4-11, 11-9, 11-8, 6-11, 11-13. The young India women’s team showed courage and commitment in the positions play-off, beating Thailand 3-1 to finish fifth.