The Indian men’s table tennis team secured a bronze medal at the Asian Table Tennis Championships 2024 held in Astana, Kazakhstan, marking their third consecutive bronze in this event. India’s top-ranked women’s doubles duo, Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee, achieved a remarkable milestone by claiming a bronze medal at the Asian Table Tennis Championships 2024.
Key Highlights Women’s Team
Historic Achievement
- Ayhika and Sutirtha became the first all-Indian women’s doubles pair to win a medal at the Asian Championships, following Gool Nasikwala’s gold medal win with Japan’s Yoshiko Tanaka in 1952.
Semi-final Match
- The Mukherjees faced Japan’s Miwa Harimoto (World No. 33) and Miyuu Kihara in the semi-finals, losing with a scoreline of 3-0 (11-4, 11-9, 11-9).
- In the second game, Ayhika and Sutirtha held a four-point lead but were unable to maintain it as Harimoto and Kihara made a strong comeback.
Previous Achievements
- The Mukherjees made history at the Asian Games last year by winning India’s first medal in women’s doubles.
- They also became the first Indians to win the WTT Contender women’s doubles title in Tunis last year.
India’s Overall Performance
- India concluded the Asian Table Tennis Championships 2024 with three bronze medals:
- The Indian women’s team earned a historic bronze, marking the first medal in the women’s team event since the ATTU began organizing the competition in 1972.
- The Indian men’s team secured their third consecutive bronze.
Overall Medal Tally
- India’s total medal tally at the Asian Championships now stands at eight, all of which are bronze medals.
Individual Performances
- Former Commonwealth Games champion Manika Batra was eliminated in the pre-quarterfinals of the women’s singles.
- Veteran player Sharath Kamal could not progress beyond the round of 64 in the men’s singles.
Key Highlights Men’s Team
Bronze Medal Achievement
- The Indian men’s team clinched the bronze medal after losing in the semi-finals to Chinese Taipei with a score of 3-0.
Consistent Performance
- This victory marks India’s third straight bronze in the men’s team event, following similar achievements in 2021 and 2023.
- Overall, India has secured seven bronze medals in the history of the Asian Table Tennis Championships.
Semi-final Details
- The semi-final match against Chinese Taipei featured three matches
- Sharath Kamal (World No. 42) lost to Lin Yun-Ju (World No. 11) with scores of 11-7, 12-10, 11-9.
- Manav Thakkar (World No. 60) took one game off Kao Cheng-Jui (World No. 22) but lost 3-1 (11-9, 8-11, 11-3, 13-11).
- Harmeet Desai (World No. 91) was defeated by Huang Yan-Cheng (World No. 70) with scores of 11-6, 11-9, 11-7.
Path to the Semi-finals
- India advanced to the semi-finals after a solid 3-1 victory over Kazakhstan in the quarter-finals, with contributions from Sharath, Manav, and Harmeet.
Event Structure
The Asian Table Tennis Championships feature competitions in seven events,
- Men’s team,
- Women’s team,
- Men’s doubles,
- women’s doubles,
- Mixed doubles,
- Men’s singles, and
- Women’s singles.