The Indian junior boys team thrashed Iran 3-1 in the quarter-finals to ensure a bronze medal in the 23rd Asian junior and cadet table tennis Championships at Asan, South Korea on Friday.
The Indian team comprised Manav Thakkar, Jeet Chandra and Manush Shah. They will clash with top-seeded China in the semi-finals.
However, the junior girls crashed out of the team championships losing to top-seed China in straight games. The team members were Moumita Datta, Archana Kamath and Selena Selvakumar.
The stories in the cadet boys and cadet girls were no different as China blanked out the Indians 3-0 in both the sections. However, it was creditable for all the Indian squads to have qualified for the main draw where they had to face the toughest opponents.
Manav Thakkar began well to beat Amirreza Abbasi 11-9, 5-11, 11-7 11-7 to provide a nice cushion. But Jeet Chandra, after putting up a good fight lost the second rubber to Amin Ahmadian 11-5, 15-13, 6-11 9-11, 10-12 which helped Iran level score.
Manush Shah ensured a 11-3, 11-9, 12-10 win against Iran’s third player Alin Rahnamayhaghighi for India’s upper hand. Manav, playing his reverse singles, downed Ahmadian 11-7, 11-3, 9-11, 11-9 to seal India’s semi-final place.
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