Historic gold for India

Historic gold for India

FPJ BureauUpdated: Friday, May 31, 2019, 07:54 PM IST
article-image

Indian men claim gold, while women win silver.

Surat : Indian men claimed the team championship beating England 3-1 while their women’s squad had to satisfy themselves with the silver medal after losing to Singapore 1-3 in the final of the 20th AVADH Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships at the Pandit Dindayal Upadhyay Indoor Stadium here on Friday. The Indian men paddlers have done it only for the second time in 20 editions of the championships, having won gold in 2004 in Malaysia under the leadership of Achanta Sharath Kamal, who went on to win his individual gold, too. For the women, this was the fourth occasion to claim silver. They had won the white metal in 1975, 1983 and 1991.

In the golden fight, England’s David McBeath gave a scare to both Harmeet Desai and India when the Indian, after leading 2-0, went down 2-3 in what was a wonderful comeback by the Englishman. McBeath had the presence of mind to slow down the game and catch Harmeet on the wrong foot several times in the last three games to put his team one-up. But Soumyajit Ghosh beat Helshen Weerasinghe rather easily to level the score as the Sri Lankan origin player did not have any answer to the Indian’s rapid play. Though Weerasinghe tried to borrow his teammate’s line, it did not work against Soumyajit.

Giving credit to McBeath, Ghosh said his team mates were confident of winning the gold. “Of course there was some pressure, but I am used to it. In the end, I could help team win and I am happy,” said the world’s top-ranked Indian in the current outfit.

However, the Indian eves failed to emulate their male counterparts as pre-tournament favourites Singapore showed their superiority. However, one did expect our women paddlers to put up a semblance of fight to make the contest interesting. Instead, it turned out to be boring and one-sided. If Ankita Das, after taking the first game, faltered to deceive against world No. 57 Lin Ye, Manika couldn’t do much against No.46 Zhou Yihan. Zhou was simply outstanding this evening. Veteran Mouma Das, with her experience, pulled one back beating Koh Kai Xin Pearlyn but Lin Ye downed Manika in her reverse singles to end India’s ordeal quickly.

RECENT STORIES

IND W vs ENG W: Pratika Rawal Clashes Shoulders With Sophie Ecclestone After Being Dismissed In 1st...

IND W vs ENG W: Pratika Rawal Clashes Shoulders With Sophie Ecclestone After Being Dismissed In 1st...

'We’ll Make That Call In...': Ryan Ten Doeschate's Massive Claim About Jasprit Bumrah's Inclusion...

'We’ll Make That Call In...': Ryan Ten Doeschate's Massive Claim About Jasprit Bumrah's Inclusion...

IND vs ENG: Morne Morkel Bowls To Team India Batters As They Practice In Beckenham Ahead Of 4th...

IND vs ENG: Morne Morkel Bowls To Team India Batters As They Practice In Beckenham Ahead Of 4th...

'Dance Class Starting Soon': Arshdeep Singh Teaches Kuldeep Yadav Steps Of Punjabi Song Amid IND vs...

'Dance Class Starting Soon': Arshdeep Singh Teaches Kuldeep Yadav Steps Of Punjabi Song Amid IND vs...

IND vs ENG: What Is Team India's Record In Manchester As They Gear Up For Their First Test At Old...

IND vs ENG: What Is Team India's Record In Manchester As They Gear Up For Their First Test At Old...