The Indian men's table tennis team edged past Japan 3-1 in the quarter-final to assure themselves of a historic first medal at the 18th Asian Games in Jakarta on Monday. However, the Indian women's table tennis team crashed out in the quarter-final of the competition after losing 1-3 to Hong Kong.
G Sathiyan won two matches while veteran Achanta Sharath Kamal won one as they ousted Japan, the last editon's bronze medallist.
World Number 39 Sathiyan Gnanasekaran beat World Number 19 Kenta Matsudaira 3-1 (12-10, 6-11, 11-7, 11-4) in the fourth match to secure a passage in the semi-finals and assure India of at least a bronze medal.
It was Sathiyan who gave India a good start, beating Jin Ueda in the first singles. Sharath Kamal then defeated Kenta Matsudaira 11-8, 12-10, 11-8 to take a 2-0 lead.
Japan then stretched India to the fourth match after Masaki Yoshida beat Harmeet Desai 9-11, 14-12, 8-11, 11-8, 11-4.
In the women’s team match, Commonwealth Games gold medallist Manika Batra gave India a good start, beating Ho Ching Lee but Ayhika Mukherjee lost her match to Hoi Kem Doo, while Mouma Das suffered a reversal at the hands of Wai Yam Minnie to derail their campaign.
Manika then fluffed her lines in the fourth match of the game against Hoi Kem Doo as Hong Kong took the tie 3-1.
In the first game, Manika got the better of Lee Ho Ching 11-9, 11-9, 9-11, 11-6 to put India ahead.
Ayhika failed to cash in on the early advantage, losing to Doo Hoi Kem 14-12, 4-11, 10-12, 8-11.
Mouma followed suit too, losing to Soo Wai Yam Minnie 6-11, 13-11, 11-8, 3-11, 5-11 before Manika finished second best in the final encounter with a scoreline of 8-11, 8-11, 11-13.
(With inputs from IANS)