Taking advantage of China’s absence, India on Wednesday defeated Iran 3-1 in the quarter-finals to secure their maiden medal at the Asian Table Tennis Championships. India, who made it to the Champions Division after their stellar performance in the previous edition, were also given a direct entry into the eight-team main draw of the ITTF-ATTU joint event.
Ace paddler A Sharath Kamal took the lead in the win against Iran. Sharath, who opened the first match of the rubber, beat Neema Almian 11-9, 6-11, 11-9, 11-5 to take India 1-0. Although the world number 33 got off to a good start, she dropped the next before gaining steam to leave Almyan behind.
In the next match, world number 38 G Sathiyan defeated Noshad Almian (world number 74) 11-7, 11-6, 6-11, 11-6. But in the next round, Harmeet Desai lost to Amir Hussain Hodei 8-11, 7-11, 11-8, 14-12, 7-11.
The fiercely contested rubber saw fortunes fluctuate from one extreme to another but Irani held her nerves to narrow the margin. However, in his reverse singles, Sharath sealed the fate of Iran after beating Iran 11-8, 11-8, 8-11, 11-9 to ensure India their first medal.
The Indians will take on the winners of the South Korea vs Hong Kong match on Friday.
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