The Indian team at the 2023 ITTF World Table Tennis Championships held in Durban, showed their abilities and tenacity.
The Indian team at the 2023 ITTF World Table Tennis Championships held in Durban, showed their abilities and tenacity. Although they were unable to win any gold medal in the tournament yet they had a lasting impact in the tournament. There were 11 Indian athletes that competed, including notable Olympians Sharath Kamal Achanta, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, and Manika Batra. India’s journey in the Championships concluded on Wednesday as Manika Batra and Archana Kamath crashed out in a defeat in the women’s doubles event.
The Indian table tennis team comprised many new players along with some veterans of the game. Sharath Kamal led the five-member men’s team which included Olympian Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and members of the Asian Games 2018 bronze-medal winning team Manav Thakkar and Harmeet Desai. Additionally, a new face Manush Shah was also added to the experienced lot.
Manika Batra and Archana Kamath, the duo which survived till the end had to face a very formidable opponent in pre-quarters. The Indian duo faced a tough challenge at the hands of Japan’s Hina Hayata and Mima Ito, succumbing to an 8-11, 6-11, 7-11 loss in the pre-quarterfinals. The Japanese pair is the current world no. 2.
In the men’s singles competition, Sharath Kamal Achanta defeated David Serdaroglu of Austria 4-1 and got off to a good start. But he ran into South Korean Lee Sang Su in the round of 64 and lost to him in straight sets after a tough game. In another exciting encounter, G. Sathiyan defeated England’s Tom Jarvis after a seven-set valiant effort put on by the Englishman. However, he was unable to proceed any further and bowed down to Dang Qiu of Germany in the 64th round.
Manika Batra led the Indian charge in the women’s singles category, securing a convincing round-of-128 victory over Algeria’s Lynda Loghraibi. She extended her winning streak in the round of 64 by defeating Singapore’s Xin Ru Wong. However, she was knocked out in the round of 32 by Adriana Diaz of Puerto Rico.
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Sharath Kamal Achanta and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran made a strong team in the men’s doubles competition, winning their first two matches against Egyptian and Danish opponents. But, they were defeated by England’s Paul Drinkhall and Liam Pitchford. In the mixed doubles category, G Sathiyan and Manika Batra displayed great chemistry, securing victories against Luxembourg and Brazilian pairs. However, they were eliminated in the round of 16 by Sweden’s Truls Moregard and Christina Kallberg.
Men’s singles:
Round of 128
Manish Shah lost to Cho Seungmin (South Korea) 1-4
Sharath Kamal Achanta beat David Serdaroglu (Austria) 4-1
G Sathiyan beat Tom Jarvis (England) 4-3
Harmeet Desai lost to Tiago Apolonia (Portugal) 1-4
Round of 64
Sharath Kamal Achanta lost to Lee Sang Su (South Korea) 0-4
G Sathiyan lost to Dang Qiu (Germany) 0-4
Women’s singles:
Round of 128
Manika Batra beat Lynda Loghraibi (Algeria) 4-0
Sreeja Akula beat Nicole Arlia (Italy) 4-1
Sutirtha Mukherjee lost to Tatiana Kukulkova (Slovakia) 3-4
Reeth Tennison beat Hana Arapovic (Croatia) 4-2
Round of 64
Sreeja Akula lost to Ying Han (Germany) 0-4
Reeth Tennison lost to Nina Mittelham (Germany) 1-4
Manika Batra beat Xin Ru Wong (Singapore) 4-0
Round of 32
Manika Batra lost to Adriana Diaz (Puerto Rico) 3-4
Men’s doubles:
Round of 64
Sharath Kamal Achanta/G Sathiyan beat Mohamed El-Beiali/Mohamed Shouman (Egypt) 3-0
Harmeet Desai/Manush Shah beat Denis Zholudev/Sagantay Kurmambayev (Kazakhstan) 3-0
Round of 32
Sharath Kamal Achanta/G Sathiyan beat Anders Lind (Denmark)/Bence Majoros (Hungary) 3-0
Harmeet Desai/Manush Shah lost to Shunsuke Togami/Yukiya Uda (Japan) 0-3
Round of 16
Sharath Kamal Achanta/G Sathiyan lost to Paul Drinkhall/Liam Pitchford (England) 1-3
Women’s doubles:
Round of 64
Manika Batra/Archana Kamath beat Emily Quan/Yishiuan Lin (USA) 3-1
Sreeja Akula/Diya Chitale beat Gaia Monfardini/Nicole Arlia (Italy) 3-2
Round of 32
Manika Batra/Archana Kamath beat Dora Madarasz/Georgina Pota (Hungary) 3-0
Sreeja Akula/Diya Chitale lost to Yingsha Sun/Manyu Wang (China) 0-3
Round of 16
Manika Batra/Archana Kamath lost to Hina Hayata/Mima Ito (Japan) 0-3
Mixed doubles:
Round of 64
G Sathiyan/Manika Batra beat Xia Lian Ni/Luka Mladenovic (Luxembourg) 3-2
Manav Thakkar/Archana Kamath received a walkover from Daniel Gonzalez/Melanie Diaz (Puerto Rico) 3-0
Round of 32
G Sathiyan/Manika Batra beat Eric Jouti/ Luca Kumahara (Brazil) 3-1
Manav Thakkar/Archana Kamath lost to Nikhil Kumar/Amy Wang (USA) 2-3
Round of 16
G Sathiyan/Manika Batra lost to Truls Moregard/Christina Kallberg (Sweden) 1-3
Overall, despite a satisfying performance in the competition, the Indian contingent was not able to bring any gold medals back to the country. However, this performance bears testimony to the dominance of India and etching a place amongst the traditional powerhouses of table tennis, especially China.
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