India sweeps Commonwealth Table Tennis team titles as men edge Malaysia 3-2
India completed a clean sweep of the team titles at the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships. The men's team edged Malaysia 3-2 with Manush Shah delivering the decisive victory, while the women's team dominated Malaysia 3-0 to secure the championship.
Hyderabad: Left proved right. Manush Shah emerged as the hero as India’s men overcame a resilient Malaysia 3-2 in the final of the team event, lifting the glittering trophy at the 22nd Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships at the Thyagaraj Stadium on Thursday.
Earlier, the women’s squad thrashed Malaysia without breaking a sweat, wrapping up the final with a 3-0 verdict.
It was a tricky final matchup for the men’s team, especially after their loss to Malaysia in the league phase. Manav Thakkar put up a brave front and discussed the strategic change to their team composition—they left out Harmeet Desai from the lineup—and the revenge factor. Even the Malaysians had brought in their second player to play the third rubber. And they made a change in the women’s team—Karen, who accounted for Yangzi Lu, the world’s top-ranked woman paddler here at No. 31.
Strategically, everything clicked for India because the end justified the means. Until Manav lost the fourth rubber to left-handed Wong, Manush took on Qi Shen Wong in the decisive rubber for the gold medal match.
Sreeja Akula, who has dropped to No. 67 in the world rankings since her selection into the Asian Games squad in the latter half of June, led 2-1 before letting Karen level at 2-2, then wrap up quickly in the decider. Then Yashaswini, who is now No. 64, put aside the first-game loss before mustering the courage to send Alice Lee Sian Chang 3-1.
The winners received a prize purse of $ 10,000 for their efforts, while the Malaysians received half that amount as they finished runners-up. Union Minister Harsh Malhotra gave away the prizes.
The results: Finals:
Team:
Men: India bt Malaysia 3-2 (Manav Thakkar bt Javen Choong 12-10, 11-7, 5-11, 11-5; Manush Shah bt Qi Shen Wong 11-13, 11-9, 11-7, 2-11, 11-7; G. Sathiyan lost to Hong Yu Tey 7-11, 8-11, 10-12; Manav lost to Wong 11-4, 8-11, 11-8, 7-11, 1-11; Manush bt Choong 11-7, 11-4, 11-4).
Women: India bt Malaysia 3-0 (Swastika Ghosh bt Ai Xin Tee 11-7, 11-2, 9-11, 11-9; Sreeja Akula bt Karen Lyne Anak Dick 9-11, 11-6, 11-4, 5-11, 11-3; Yashaswini Ghorpade bt Alice Lee Sian Chang 7-11, 11-3, 17-15, 11-5).
