Sathiyan and Harmeet beat the French combination by a scoreline of 11-9, 4-11, 11-9, 11-6. The Indian pair pocketed the first game, but lost momentum and allowed the French to level the match 1-1. Sathiyan and Harmeet, however, clawed their way back by taking the lead in the third game and then hardly broke a sweat in winning the fourth.
“It is my first-ever international title in men’s doubles. We (referring to him and Harmeet) are playing together after a long time. It is fantastic to win a gold medal in a pro tour event,” Chennai-based Sathiyan told PTI. The 28-year-old said that speed was the pair’s main weapon and added that it could surprise the opponents in that aspect of the game.
“We have beaten three good pairs – German, Hungarian and French – en route to winning the title. Credit to Harmeet; he played really well,” said Sathiyan. “Doubles victory for Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Harmeet Desai! #Congratulations for clinching the #WTTTunis Men’s Doubles title!” World Table Tennis (WTT), the commercial and events company of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), tweeted.
The Indian combination had fashioned a spectacular come-from-behind victory against Hungary’s Nandor Ecseki and Adam Szudi in the semi-finals on Friday.
RESULT:Final: Sathiyan/Harmeet (India) bt Lebesson/Cassin (France) 11-9, 4-11, 11-9, 11-6
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