India’s women’s and men’s table tennis teams advanced to the quarterfinals of the Asian Games following identical 3-0 wins over their respective Pakistani rivals, here on Monday. The women's team swept aside Pakistan 3-0 in a one-sided tie to top Group F for its third win in a row, while the men’s team also bounced back for the same scoreline.
At the Sky Hall here, Sutirtha Mukherjee, who won a bronze medal in the women’s doubles event at the last edition in Hangzhou, got India off to a flying start, beating Aleena Khan 11-3, 11-3, 11-4 in just 10 minutes. Rising 17-year-old Syndrela Das then made it 2-0 with an 11-6, 11-7, 11-5 win over Kalsoom Khan.
Currently ranked 99th in the ITTF women’s singles rankings, Syndrela was rewarded for her impressive form on the domestic circuit with a call-up to the senior side for the Asian Games. Sreeja Akula sealed the tie, breezing past Fatima Khan 11-4, 11-4, 11-5 in 11 minutes to power India into the last-eight stage.
Later in the day, the Indian men’s team bounced back after their loss in the opening match against Iran with a thumping 3-0 hammering of Pakistan.
World No. 97 Harmeet Desai took India to a winning start with a 3-0 (11-4, 11-3, 11-5) victory over Pakistan’s Muhammad Khan in the opening match, while the 82-ranked captain G Sathiyan consolidated India’s hold on the contest with another 3-0 (11-1, 11-8, 11-9) win over Abbas Khan.
In the third match, Payas Jain blanked the other Muhammad Khan 3-0 (11-2, 11-5, 11-7) to put India back on the winning track after a disappointing outing in the first match.