World Team Table Tennis Championships - India women beat Italy, men beat Kazakhstan to enter Round of 16

Team India women will face Chinese Taipei, at 1:30 PM IST while the men will face South Korea at 4:30 PM IST in the Round of 16.

India women beat Italy

Looking to earn their Paris Olympic spot the Indian women's team secured a commanding 3-0 victory over Italy in the World Team Table Tennis Championships 2024 in Busan on Wednesday.

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The 17th-seeded Team India will now face Chinese Taipei, who are seeded fourth, later in the day (1:30 PM IST) in the Round of 16.

As for the men's team, they faced Kazakhstan and took the win 3-2 to enter the Round of 16. India will meet Korea, seeded third, in the pre-quarterfinal at 4.30 p.m. IST today.

A quarterfinal finish in the event will assure India of a place in the team event of the Paris Olympics.

As for their game against Italy, Sreeja Akula provided India with an early advantage as she defeated Nikoleta Stefanova 12-10, 11-6, 11-7 in just 20 minutes.

Later, Manika Batra extended India's lead to 2-0 as she overpowered Giorgia Piccolin 12-10, 11-6, 11-5 in 23 minutes.

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The final nail to Italy's campaign was by Ayhika Mukherjee as she went up against Gaia Monfardini. Monfardini staged a comeback in the third game, saving three match points to claim a 15-13 victory. Despite the setback, Ayhika maintained her composure and secured the fourth game and the overall win with an 11-8 victory.

In the men's division, the Indian team narrowly defeated Kazakhstan 3-2 in the Round of 32. The 29th seeded- side gave a tough fight the the 17th seeded Indian side.

Strong performances from Achanta Sharath Kamal, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, and Harmeet Desai secured India's advancement in the tournament. The Indian side will face South Korea later in the day.

Kirill Gerassimenko initially triumphed over Harmeet, India’s top-ranked player, in five games during the first rubber. Later, Achanta Sharath Kamal secured a hard-fought 3-2 victory against Alan Kurmangaliyev in the subsequent match, levelling the score to 1-1.

Sathiyan Gnanasekaran also showcased his best performance, securing a fantastic win over Aidos Kenzhigulov.

In the fourth rubber, Sharath faced off against Kirill, but the Indian champion made several errors, leading to Kirill's victory and tying the game 2-2.

The fifth and final rubber witnessed Harmeet Desai sealing victory with a 3-1 win over Kirill Gerassimenko, the country’s highest-ranked paddler at 40.

The results (round of 32):

Women - India bt Italy 3-0 (Sreeja Akula bt Nikoleta Stefanova 12-10, 11-6, 11-8; Manika Batra bt Giorgia Piccolin 12-10, 11-6, 11-5; Ayhika Mukherjee bt Gaia Monfardini 15-13, 11-9, 13-15, 11-8).

Men - India bt Kazakhstan 3-2 (Harmeet Desai lost to Kirill Gerassimenko 11-9, 10-12, 8-11, 11-7, 8-11; Sharath Kamal bt Alan Kurmangaliyev 6-11, 7-11, 11-7, 13-11, 11-9; Sathiyan bt Aidos Kenzhigulov 11-6, 5-11, 11-2, 11-7; Sharath lost to Kirill 4-11, 9-11, 11-6, 7-11; Harmeet bt Kirill 11-6, 11-8, 8-11, 11-7).

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