Asian Table Tennis Championships: Indian men's team settles for bronze after losing to Chinese Taipei in semis

Pyeongchang (South Korea), Sep 6: The Indian men's table tennis team lost 0-3 to Chinese Taipei in the semifinal here on Wednesday (September 6) and ended their campaign with a bronze medal in the Asian Table Tennis Championships.

In a disappointing display, both veteran Sharath Kamal and the experienced G Sathiyan surrendered meekly to their higher-ranked opponents while Harmeet Desai showed the stomach for a fight.

Sharath was handed a 6-11, 6-11, 9-11 defeat by Chuang Chih-Yuan, ranked 26th, while Sathiyan went down 5-11, 6-11, 10-12 to world number 7 Lin Yun-Ju as the third-seeded Indian team trailed 0-2.

Playing to stay alive in the tie, Harmeet, the country's highest-ranked player at 63, gave India some hope as he took a game off Kao Cheng-Jui. But the world number 33 sealed the tie for Chinese Taipei, seeded second, with a 11-6, 11-7, 7-11, 11-9 win.

At the Asian Championships, the losing semifinalists are also awarded bronze medals. The third-seed Indian men's team finished with a bronze in the previous edition in Doha two years ago.

Earlier in the quarterfinals, the men's team defeated Singapore 3-0 to confirm a medal. In the opening singles match, Sharath defeated Izaac Quek 11-1, 10-12, 11-8, 11-13, 14-12.

Sathiyan then defeated Yew En Koen Pang 11 6, 11 8, 12 10 to give India a 2-0 lead in the last-eight clash. Harmeet Desai then sealed the tie by thrashing Zhe Yu Clarence Chew 11-9, 11-4, 11-6 in three straight games.

(With PTI inputs)