PYEONGCHANG (SOUTH KOREA): The Indian men’s table tennis team signed off with a bronze medal after going down 0-3 to Chinese Taipei in the Asian Championships semifinal here on Wednesday.
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.