Paddlers open with a bang

Hangzhou, September 22

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India began their campaign in the table tennis competition on a rousing note with both the men’s and women’s teams registering wins in their respective preliminary group matches.

The men’s team started off with a facile 3-0 victory over Yemen and then got the better of Singapore 3-1 in their second Group F tie.

In their first tie, veteran Sharath Kamal, G Sathiyan and Harmeet Desai made short work of their opponents to notch straight-game victories.

Against Singapore, Sathiyan beat Izaac Young Quek 5-11 12-10 11-6 11-9, while Harmeet had to dig deep to get past Yew En Koen Pang 12-10 11-8 6-11 6-11 11-5. Sharath, however, lost to Zhe Yu Clarence Chew 11-13 8-11 12-10 5-11 to hand Singapore some breathing space. But Sathiyan ensured India continued their winning streak, beating Pang 11-7 10-12 11-9 11-6.

The women’s team too had a good day in office as it defeated Singapore 3-2 in its opening Pool F fixture. It was not a perfect start for the Indian women as Ayhika Mukherjee lost 11-7 2-11 7-11 10-12 to Jian Zeng. But Manika Batra drew the scores level for India, defeating Jingyi Zhou 11-9 9-11 11-7 11-3, and then Sreeja Akula gave India the lead with a fighting 12-14 11-9 8-11 11-9 11-7 win over Xin Ru Wong.

Singapore took the tie into the decider when Batra lost 3-11 11-3 10-12 12-10 10-12 to Zeng. But Mukherjee ensured a positive start for the Indian women by a registering 11-7 11-8 9-11 11-5 win over Zhou. — PTI

Men’s volleyball team enters quarterfinals

Hangzhou: The Indian men’s volleyball team continued its impressive run, advancing to the quarterfinals with a clinical 3-0 win over Chinese Taipei. Following their stunning win over South Korea, India notched up a 25-22 25-22 25-21 win over Chinese Taipei to progress to the 1-6th place playoffs. PTI

Balraj advances to single sculls final

Hangzhou: Indian rower Balraj Panwar qualified for the Final A of the men’s single sculls. The 24-year-old finished third in 7 minutes and 22 seconds in the semifinal F A/B2.