The Indian women’s table tennis players made history on Wednesday by collecting their first medal, a bronze, at the Asian Table Tennis Championships in Astana, after losing 1-3 to Japan in the quarterfinals. This is India’s first medal in the Asian Championships’ women’s team event. Going first, India’s Ayhika Mukherjee fought hard against Japan’s Miwa Harimoto, losing 2-3 (8-11 11-9 8-11 13-11 7-11). Manika Batra evened the score in the second set, defeating Satsuki Odo 3-0 (11-6 11-5 11-8).
Sutirtha Mukherjee, the next in charge, gave Japan the lead after falling 0-3 (9-11 4-11 13-15) against Mima Ito. The onus was then on Manika to save India, but she was outplayed by Harimoto and lost 1-3 (3-11 11-6 2-11 3-11).
With Japan leading 3-1, the final match between Ayhika and Odo was deemed unnecessary and was canceled. The Indian women’s table tennis players made history on Wednesday by winning their first medal, a bronze, at the Asian Table Tennis Championships in Astana, despite falling 1-3 to Japan in the quarterfinal. This is India’s first medal in the Asian Championships women’s team competition. Going first, India’s Ayhika Mukherjee battled hard against Japan’s Miwa Harimoto.