The Indian table tennis contingent's dream run at the Asian Games got better on Wednesday when the mixed doubles pairing of A Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra exceeded its own expectations to win a historic Bronze.
It was only Tuesday that the Kamal-led men's team had secured a Bronze, ending India's 60-year-wait for a maiden medal at the Asian Games.
On Wednesday, Kamal and Batra played four matches in a day and only the opener against Malaysia was comfortable.
In the lead-up to the event, Kamal had slammed the scheduling of the competition.
In the semifinals, Kamal and Batra made life tough for China's Yingsha Sun and Wang Sun before going down 9-11, 5-11, 13-11, 4-11, 8-11. The semifinal was a best of seven games contest while the earlier rounds were played in the usual best of five format.
Their pre-quarterfinal was against the strong a South Korean pairing of lee Sangsu and Jeon Jihee but the Indians battled past them 11-7, 7-11, 11-8, 10-12, 11-4.
Next up for Kamal and Batra was the North Korean challenge posed by Cha Hyo Sim and An Ji Song. This was for a place in the semifinals and a guaranteed medal at the Games.
like the round of 16 match, the quarterfinal too went down to the wire with the Indians pulling off a 11-4, 10-12, 11-6, 6-11, 11-8 victory.
The combination of Kamal's power and Batra's deceptive play from the pimpled rubber proved too hot to handle for the Koreans.
"In mixed doubles, the role of the female player is very important. More often than not, it actually decides who is going to win the match," Kamal said.
"It has been an unbelievable campaign so far. Not even in my wildest dreams I thought of winning a medal at the Asian Games. Now I have got too. I am still pinching myself," added Kamal, who will also compete in the men's doubles and singles competiton.
‘we can beat anyone except china’
Warhorse Sharath Kamal says he can peacefully retire after winning India's first table tennis medal at the Asian Games but he won't.
He won't because there is a strong belief within the men's team now that a World Championship medal is very much a possibility. "On our day, we can beat anyone except China," Kamal said.
At the start of the year, India had as many as six top-100 players in the ITTF rankings.
"It is a Bronze but it feels like a Gold. In 2006, I won my first Commonwealth Games Gold. I had just come on to the scene. But a medal at the Asian Games feels unreal. My wife, who usually doesn't have much interest in the game says 'You can stop now and spend time with your kids,'" said the 36-year-old, who is still going strong after competing on the big stage for close to 15 years.
"Except the Chinese, everyone fears the Indians on the ITTF tour. Because if they beat them in individual competitions, they can beat them anywhere. Even the Chinese don't take them lightly anymore," said India's Italian coach Massimo Costantini.