Asthana: Ayhika Mukerjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee have advanced to the quarterfinals of the women’s doubles at the 27th Asian Table Tennis Championships here in Kazakhstan.
The Indian duo secured their spot by defeating Kazakhstan’s Zauresh Akasheva and Sarvinoz Mirkadirova 11-4, 11-7, and 11-8 on Friday.
Following a first-round bye, they had overwhelmed Uzbekistan’s Markhabo Magdieva and Arujan Kamalova 11-3, 11-6, 11-4.
Their next challenge will be against South Korea’s formidable pair of Kim Nayeong
and Lee Eunhye.
In other women’s doubles action, Manika Batra and Diya Chitale advanced to the Round of 32 after a bye but were narrowly eliminated in the pre-quarterfinals. They lost a tightly contested match against Thailand’s Orawan Paranang and Suthasini Sawettabutt, with the final score being 2-3.
The Thai pair won 11-3, 9-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-7. Before that, they had decisively beaten Kyrgyzstan’s Saida Kudosova and Aiana Ulanbekova with a dominant performance, winning 11-1, 11-2, 11-4.
On the men’s side, G. Sathiyan and Harmeet won straight over Bahrain’s Rashed and Mohammad Saleh, winning 11-2, 11-7, 11-8.
However, fellow Indian duo Manav and Manush faced a challenging pre-quarterfinal match against Singapore’s Yew En Koen Pang and Izaac Quek. Despite leading 2-1, they ultimately lost 2-3 in a nail-biting finish.
In singles, Manav Thakkar and Manush Shah both enjoyed straightforward victories in their matches, with scores of 11-4, 11-2, 11-6 and 11-2, 11-4, 11-6, respectively.
Unfortunately, G. Sathiyan was eliminated by North Korea’s Ham Yu Song in a closely contested match that ended 11-9, 8-11, 7-11, 9-11.
Ayhika Mukherjee continued her strong performance in the women’s singles, defeating North Korea’s Cha Su Yong 11-6, 11-7, 11-9 to move into the Round of 32. She showcased impressive form, dominating the match despite a brief challenge in the third game.
However, she faces a tough opponent next in Japan’s Mima Ito.
Sutirtha Mukherjee, on the other hand, suffered a defeat in the Round of 64 against Kim Kum Yong of North Korea.
In mixed doubles, heartbreak struck for the Indian pairs. After a smooth first-round bye, Manika Batra and Manav Thakkar defeated Uzbekistan’s Markhabo Magdieva and Shokhrukh Skandarov in the Round of 32 with a clean 3-0 sweep. However, they fell short in Round 16 against North Korea’s Kim Kum Yong and RI Jong Sik, losing 6-11, 7-11, 11-8, 7-11. Similarly, Diya Chitale and Manush Shah lost a hard-fought match to Chinese Taipei’s Cheng Hsein-Tzu and Feng Yi-Hsin, going down 13-11, 8-11, 8-11, 11-8, 9-11.
The remaining singles matches for other competitors will take place later tonight, promising more exciting action as the championships progress.
