Asian Youth Table Tennis Championships: Syndrela Das and Divyanshi Bhowmick storm into final as India assures two more medals

India’s Syndrela Das and Divyanshi Bhowmick defeated China’s Yao Ruixuan and Jiang Yiyi 3-2 to enter the U-19 girls' doubles final at the Asian Youth Table Tennis Championships. Syndrela also secured a singles semifinal spot

Hyderabad: India continued its impressive campaign at the ITTF-ATTU Asian Youth Table Tennis Championships in Bangkok, assuring two more medals on Friday, as the under-19 girls’ doubles pair of Syndrela Das and Divyanshi Bhowmick produced another fighting performance in the semifinals to overcome China’s Yao Ruixuan and Jiang Yiyi 7-11, 11-7, 7-11, 11-8, 11-6.

The Indian duo recovered twice from a game down before taking control in the decider to book their place in the final, where they will face Japan’s Aoba Takahashi and Misuzu Takeya, who defeated compatriots the second Chinese pair, Yan Yutong and Yang Huize, 3-2 in the other semifinal, for the gold medal.

---

The two assured podium finishes have taken India’s medal tally to four, following earlier bronze medals in the under-19 boys team and under-19 mixed doubles events.

Earlier, the duo assured a medal by defeating Thailand’s Thasita Kanaphong and Pimmada Thongnak 11-6, 13-15, 11-9, 11-8 in the quarterfinals.

Syndrela remained the star performer, backing up her upset win over China’s Yao Ruixuan in the pre-quarterfinals with a gritty 11-5, 11-7, 5-11, 3-11, 8-11, 11-6, 11-3 victory over Japan’s Yuna Ojio in the quarterfinals. Recovering from a 2-3 deficit, she dominated the final two games to become India’s lone singles semifinalist and assure herself of at least a bronze medal.

India had begun the day with three players reaching the under-19 singles quarterfinals. In the boys’ event, P.B. Abhinand produced a stirring comeback to beat Chinese Taipei’s Yang Hao-en 11-9, 6-11, 9-11, 6-11, 11-8, 14-12, 11-6 in the pre-quarterfinals despite his racket handle breaking during the match.

Divyanshi Bhowmick also advanced after edging Singapore’s Loy Ming Ying in seven games. M. Hansini exited after a spirited seven-game loss to Chinese Taipei’s Wu Ying Syuan, while Ankholika Chakraborty bowed out in the U-15 Girls’ Round of 16.

India’s top-seeded mixed doubles pair of Abhinand and Divyanshi settled for bronze after Thailand’s Thitaphat Preechayan and Kulapassr Vijitviriyagul beat the duo 11-7, 11-9, 5-11, 11-5 in their semifinal. Abhinand’s effort drew praise as he continued competing with the damaged racket instead of switching to a replacement.

The U-19 Girls’ Doubles pair of Syndrela and Divyanshi then assured another medal by defeating Thailand’s Thasita Kanaphong and Pimmada Thongnak 11-6, 13-15, 11-9, 11-8 in the quarterfinals.

India’s under-19 Boys’ Doubles challenge ended in the quarterfinals, with Abhinand and Ankur Bhattacharjee losing to the Malaysian pair of Im Jin Zhen and Lai Yong Han, after beating China’s Zhai Jiale and Zhou Guanhong 3-2 in the earlier round. In the singles quarterfinals, Abhinand and Ankur bowed out in the boys’ event, while Divyanshi’s impressive run also ended in the girls’ last eight.

With one silver medal already assured through the under-19 girls’ doubles pair of Syndrela and Divyanshi and Syndrela still in contention in the under-19 girls’ singles, India will now look to add a gold medal and further improve its impressive showing at the championships.