The Indian women’s table tennis team lost 2-3 defeat against Thailand in the pre-quarterfinals of the Asian Games 2023.
Hangzhou: Star swimmer Srihari Nataraj and the Indian women’s team qualified for the men’s 100m backstroke and 4x100m freestyle relay finals at the Asian Games 2023 on Sunday. The quartet of Olympian Maana Patel, Dhinidhi Desinghu, Janvi Choudhary and Shivangi Sarma clocked 3:53.80s to finish sixth in the 10-team affair and make the final. Srihari, on the other hand, touched the pad at 54.71s to finish second in his heat and fifth overall to progress to the final. The other Indian swimmer in the fray, Utakarsh Santosh Patil finished with a time of 59.42s to sign off at 20th spot in the men’s 100m backstroke event.
Both the finals will be held later in the day. Tanish George Matthew and Anil Kumar Shylaja failed to progress to the men’s 100m freestyle final, finishing 12th and 17th respectively.
Boxer Preeti Storms Into 54kg Quarterfinals
Putting up a dominating show, talented Indian boxer Preeti Pawar outpunched Jordan’s Silina Alhasanat to advance to the women’s 54kg quarterfinals. The 19-year-old Preeti, who made the pre-quarterfinals of the World Championships earlier this year, dominated her Jordanian opponent, winning the bout by RSC (referee stops contest).
Playing a strategic bout, Preeti started the contest on a defensive mode before unleashing her attacking game. After a sedate start, the Indian went on the offensive and landed perfect jabs and hooks to win the opening two rounds easily.
After showing promise initially, Silina faded away and looked at sea as the referee gave her two standing counts in the second and third rounds before stopping the contest. Later in the day, two-time world champion and Birmingham Commonwealth Games gold medallist Nikhat Zareen will take the ring against Thi Tam Nguyen of Vietnam in round of 32 in the women’s 50kg competition.
Disappointing Finish In Wushu
Indian wushu players Suraj Singh Mayanglambam and Anjul Namedo finished a disappointing fifth and sixth respectively in the men’s changquan event. While Suraj finished fifth with a total score of 9.730, Anjul ended a rung below with 9.710 points.
China’s Peiyuan Sun won the gold medal with a combined score of 9.840, while the silver and bronze were bagged by Edgar Xavier Marvelo of Indonesia and Macau’s Chi Kuan Song, with scores of 9.786 and 9.760 respectively at the Xiaoshan Gauli Sports Centre.
Changquan is a bare-handed martial arts event where an athlete is judged on his moves and techniques.
Indian TT Eves Exit In Round Of 16
Star Indian paddler Manika Batra lost both her matches, including the deciding fifth singles, as the Indian women’s table tennis team was eliminated following their 2-3 defeat against Thailand in the pre-quarterfinals on Sunday.
World No. 39 Batra first lost the opening match to 104th-ranked Thai player Orawan Paranang 0-3 with the Thai player dominating the proceeding for a 11-7, 11-1, 13-11 win in just 25 minutes. But 26-year-old Ayhika Mukherjee brought India on an even keel, winning the second game 3-1, defeating a much higher-ranked Suthasini Sawettabut 18-16, 11-7, 13-15, 11-9.
Sutirtha Mukherjee then defeated Tamolwan Khetkhuan 3-2 (11-1, 9-11, 3-11, 11-7, 11-7) to give India a 2-1 lead before Paranang overcame a gritty Ayhika 3-2 (10-12, 11-4, 5-11, 11-4, 11-3) to keep her team’s team’s hopes alive.
In the decider, Suthasini made up for her earlier defeat by beating Batra 3-1 (10-12, 11-8, 11-7, 11-6) to take her team into the quarterfinals. Thailand will play North Korea on Sunday for a place in the semifinals.