'Tu suicide kar le.. Ye kya jeewan hai': Paralympics gold medalist Navdeep Singh recalls heartbreaking past
Indian women shock Spain with 3-2 win, advance to Round of 32 in World Table Tennis Championships
India secured a 3-2 victory over Spain in the women's group match of the World Team Table Tennis Championships in Busan, advancing to the knockout stage.
The Indian women's team staged a comeback to defeat Spain 3-2 in their last group game and advance to the knockout phase of the World Table Tennis Team Championships in Busan on February 20.
India overcome early hurdles to triumph against Spain
Although India were considered the stronger team, they faced a tough challenge from the Spaniards. Despite setbacks early on, including losses in the first two singles matches by Sreeja Akula and Manika Batra, the Indian team managed to turn the tide.
Ayhika Mukherjee's win in the third singles match kept India's hopes alive, while Manika and Sreeja returned to the table to clinch victories in the fourth and fifth singles matches, sealing India's progression to the next stage of the tournament.
India clinched the second position in Group 1 with three wins out of four matches. Their sole defeat, although close, was against the formidable Chinese team, despite Ayhika and Sreeja's stunning victories over the world number one and two players, Sun Yinghsa and Wang Yidi, respectively.
India advance to the knockout stage
Among the 40 participating teams, the Indian women's team was one of the 24 sides to advance to the knockout stage. A quarterfinal finish in the tournament would guarantee India a spot in the team event at the Paris Olympics.
To qualify for the Olympics, India must win their round of 32 and subsequent round of 16 matches to advance to the quarterfinals.
In the opening singles match, Sreeja suffered a defeat to Maria Xiao 9-11, 11-9, 11-13, 4-11. Following that, Sofia-Xuan Zhang extended Spain's lead to 2-0 by defeating India's top-ranked player, Manika 13-11, 6-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-7.
Ayhika kept India's hopes alive by defeating Elvira Rad in the third singles match 11-8, 11-13, 11-8, 9-11, 11-4.
Manika then defeated Maria in the fourth singles 11-9, 11-2, 11-4 to make it 2-2. Sreeja sealed the tie with a victory over Sofia-Xuan 11-6, 11-13, 11-6, 11-3.
(Powered by AI, Inputs by PTI)
MORE ON SPORTS TAK:
Paris Olympics 2024: Anush Agarwalla secures India’s first equestrian quota in dressage
Quick Links
Popular Posts
'Itna gussa kaise karte ho': Prime Minister Narendra Modi talks about Paralympics Gold Medallist Navdeep Singh iconic viral moment - WATCH
From Avani Lekhara and Navdeep Singh's gold medal to Suhas Yathiraj's silver: Here is India's medal tally and performance in Paris Paralympics 2024
Paris Olympics 2024 athlete dies after being severely burned by partner over land dispute
Dharambir sets Asian record to win gold, while Pranav secures silver in Paralympic Men's F51 club throw
India surpass their best medal tally at Paralympics after high jumpers Sharad Kumar, Mariyapann Thangavelu's medals
Paris Paralympics: After several defeats against same opponent, Nithya Sri Sivan overcomes inner demons to win bronze in badminton SH6 category
Star javelin thrower Sumit Antil breaks his own Paralympics record in Paris to win second consecutive gold medals
Exclusive | Nitesh Kumar dedicates Paralympics badminton gold medal to his father
Thulasimathi Murugesan, Manisha Ramadass bag silver and bronze medals at Paralympics