 "Sharath Kamal of PSPB and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran of PSPB in action during the final of the 83rd National Table Tennis Championships (Mens), at SAI Centre, NEHU in Shillong on Monday. Sharath Kamal wins the match.")
The Indian men's table tennis team of Manav Thakkar, Manus Shah and Harmeet Desai registered a comprehensive victory against Tajikistan in their 19th Asian Games match on Saturday.
Playing at the GSP Gymnasium Table 1, the Indian team demolished Tajikistan 3-0.
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Starting the proceedings for India, Manav wrapped up a win over Afzal Mahmudov in just 17 minutes, giving his team a lead of 1-0 against Tajikistan.
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The first game saw a close contest but Manav prevailed. The Indian had an easier time of it in the second game, winning it 11-5. He deployed a slightly more aggressive approach against Mahmudov, eventually helping him take the second game with ease.
Manav was trailing 4-6 at one stage, with Mahmudov forcing errors out of the Indian. However, a good recovery late in the game saw Manav coast to an 11-8, 11-5, 11-8 win.
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In the second match, Manush Shah defeated Ubaydullo Sultonov 13-11, 11-7, 11-5.
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At one point, Sultanov dominated the first game, opening up a 9-7 lead. However, Manush produced a fine comeback to reduce the lead to 9-9 with two quick points.
Manush won the first game 13-11 after trailing initially. In the third game, the Indian paddler raced to a 9-5 lead over Sultanov. Manush claimed the third game 11-5 and won the match in straight games, giving India a 2-0 lead over Tajikistan.
The star paddler of the tie, Harmeet defeated Ibrokhim Ismoilzoda 11-1, 11-3, 11-5 without breaking a sweat.
Harmeet opened up a clear 6-0 lead against Ibrokhim and it wasn't too long before he extended the lead to 10-1. He clinched the opening game 11-1 in no time.
He led the second game 10-3 before getting bringing up the game point at 11-3. Harmeet won the third game 11-5, eventually getting the better of his Tajik rival in straight games.
The win helped India wrap up their preliminary Pool F contest against Tajikistan with a 3-0 straight-match win.
Earlier in the day, the Indian women's table tennis team of Diya Parag Chitale, Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee gave the country a facile 3-0 victory over Nepal.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
