The Indian men’s table tennis team lost 3-0 to France in their final Group 2 match at the ITTF World Table Tennis Team Championship in Chengdu, China on Tuesday.
The Indians, undefeated till this, were on top of the group before the match. However, after the loss, they dropped down to third position after being tied on seven points with Germany and France.
Later on, Romania beat Hong Kong 3-2 in Group 3. Because of this, Hong Kong finished the group in second placed followed by Romania in third.
Based on the format, the top two highest ranked third-placed teams in the group stage also make it through to the Round of 16, along with the top two teams of all groups. The Indian team, ranked 17th, made it through to the knockouts as one of the two highest ranked third-placed teams.
Their reward, however, is a tough one with China awaiting in the round of 16.
Manav Thakkar was nominated to play the opening match against Alexis LeBrun, who won 11-6, 11-8, 11-8.
The French enjoyed another straight-games win in the second match, as Felix LeBrun beat G Sathiyan 11-4, 11-2, 11-6.
Harmeet Desai then showed some resistance by winning the first and third games, but eventually lost 2-3 (13-11, 11-13, 11-7, 8-11, 7-11) to Jules Rolland, securing the win for France.
On Monday, the Indian women’s team made it through to the Round of 16 finishing second in their group of four. They will take on Chinese Taipei in the round of 16.
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