Asiad table tennis: Indian men's team settles for historic bronze after losing to South Korea in semis
Indian table tennis men's team settled for a historic bronze medal after losing 0-3 to South Korea in a lop-sided semifinal at the 18th Asian Games.
The team comprising G Sathiyan, Achanta Sharath Kamal and A Amalraj couldn't put up a fight against the mighty Koreans, who set up a summit clash against defending champions China in a repeat of 2014 edition.
Rising star G Sathiyan, ranked 39, suffered an 11-9, 9-11, 3-11, 3-11 loss to Lee Sangsu in the opening game as India lagged 0-1.
Experienced Sharath Kamal, world No 33, was then entrusted with the responsibility to bring India back in the game and he did put up a fight before going down 9-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-7, 8-11 to Young Sik Jeoung in the second match as South Korea lead the tie 2-0.
INDIA BAGS FIRST EVER MEDAL IN TT ?
— Rajyavardhan Rathore (@Ra_THORe) August 28, 2018
Immensely proud of our Men's TT team for putting up a brilliant performance & winning India's 1st ever BRONZE in Asian Games! You all have made the ?? fly high at #ASIANGAMES2018. GO INDIA GO ??????#KheloIndia #IndiaAtAsianGames pic.twitter.com/hir9H5eRiq
Historic medal in #TableTennis!
— SAIMedia (@Media_SAI) August 28, 2018
Congratulations to the team of @sathiyantt,@sharathkamal1,@HarmeetDesai(3 #TOPSAthlete), @manavthakkar16 & #AnthonyAmalraj for winning a bronze medal in Men’s Team event.
It’s #India’s 1st ever #AsianGames medal in TT. #AsianGames2018???? pic.twitter.com/HY0WE54V1R
In the deciding third game, Amalraj was beaten 5-11, 7-11, 11-4, 7-11, by 22-year-old Woojin Jang as South Korea clinched the tie 3-0.
India had yesterday defeated fancied Japan 3-1 in the quarterfinals to assure the country its first-ever Asian Games medal in table tennis.
India did not have a single medal in the sport which was introduced in the Games program in 1958. The likes of China (61 gold), Japan (20) and South Korea (10) swept the medals for long time.