Asian Games 2018: Indian men's table tennis reaches semis, assured of medal

Jakarta, August 27: The Indian men's table tennis team defeated Japan 3-1 to qualify for the semifinals of the team event at the Asian Games 2018 in Jakarta on Monday (August 27).

It was their third match on Monday after beating Macau and Vietnam 3-0 each, but the trio of Sharath Kamal, Sathiyan G and Harmeet Desai did not show any signs of fatigue as they brushed aside Japan.

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Sathiyan got India off to a great start by beating Jin Ueda 11-9, 11-9, 11-7 in the first clash.

Kamal then stood up to the challenge of Kenta Matsudaira 11-8, 12-10, 11-8 to increase India's lead.

Men played well! 😎
A podium finish it will be for Indian Table Tennis for the very first time at the #AsianGames2018
Kudos to @sathiyantt and #TeamIndia on creating history and reaching the semis 🇮🇳👏🏓#RDAthleteMentorships #PlayToConquer pic.twitter.com/WK5xWe3pQq

— GoSports Foundation (@GoSportsVoices) August 27, 2018

However, Desai suffered a close five-game 11-9, 12-14, 11-8, 8-11, 4-11 defeat to Masaki Yoshida in the third match-up.

However, Sathiyan returned to beat Kenta Matsudaira 12-10, 6-11, 11-7 11-4 in the fourth match-up to seal the victory for India and a place in the semifinals.

They are up against South Korea in the last-four clash but are already assured of a bronze from the event. South Korea defeated North Korea 3-2 in another quarterfinal.

The semifinal will be held at 11 am on Tuesday, August 28. Watch the proceedings live on Sony Ten Network or Sony Liv.

The women's team of Manika Batra, Ayhika Mukherjee and Mouma Das, however, lost their quarterfinal 1-3 to Hong Kong.

Only Batra prevailed over Ho Ching Lee 11-9, 11-9, 5-11, 11-6 in the opening match-up.

Mukherjee lost 14-12, 4-11, 10-12, 8-11 to Hoi Kem Doo, while Das lost 6-11, 13-11, 11-8, 3-11, 5-11 to Soo Wai Yam Minnie.

Batra could have got India back in the match-up but she lost the fourth round 8-11, 8-11, 11-13 to Doo to bow out of the competition.