Mumbai: Without the points against Singapore, reckoned Indian TT’s foreign coach Massimo Costantini, the win against Thailand wouldn’t have happened. And without the win against Thailand, the match against North Korea wouldn’t have happened.
And Kim kicked off North Korea’s dominance in the last eight with a 3-0 (11-7, 11-6, 11-5) sweep of Sreeja Akula. Not a game was given to Yashaswini Ghorpade (lost to Pyon Song Gyong 4-11, 3-11, 6-11) or Diya Chitale (lost to Cha Su Yong 9-11, 7-11, 8-11) either. Harmeet Desai took the first game against world No.11 Jang Woojin but lost 3-1. Manush Shah had a match point in his fourth game and a 4-1 lead in the decider before world No.23 Oh Junsung eked out a 3-2 win.
Manav Thakkar had six game points in the first game only to let An Jaehyun off the hook.
North Korea, always a mysterious element on the table in multi-sport events, proved too strong for India in their 3-0 sweep on Tuesday evening. The women’s squad, without its current No.1 Manika Batra who wasn’t selected, ought to be disappointed having come that far and fizzled out without a fight. Because fight it did against Singapore in the group tie and Thailand earlier on Tuesday in the knockouts, going one better than the Hangzhou Asian Games.
The team was united and determined,” Costantini told HT from Japan. “A quarter-final, with this young team, was a motivating factor. The Indian women’s table tennis team’s run was halted there, in the quarter-finals, one step short of a medal on Tuesday.
“The contribution of Yashaswini was essential in making the team confident,” said Costantini. “Because if not for the win against Singapore, and without the motivating feeling that winning gives you, I don’t think we could have beaten Thailand.” It was a rather tame end to the team’s run that was defined by gritty fights and rallying wins, which saw them come back from two ties down against Thailand and Singapore. In both, Yashaswini, the MVP of India’s campaign, and Sreeja were protagonists.
