Asian Games, table tennis: Ayhika-Sutirtha clinch a historic doubles bronze
What's the story
Indian table tennis duo of Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee settled for a historic bronze medal at the 2023 Asian Games.
The Indian women's doubles pair went down in the semi-finals 4-3 against North Korea's Suyong Cha and Sugyong Pak.
This is the first medal at the Asian Games for India in the women's doubles event in table tennis.
Here's more.
Match
India took the lead; North Korea retaliated in Game 2
Surtirtha and Ayhika started brilliantly as they looked like no pushovers. The Indian duo mixed defense with attack beautifully to take the North Korean duo by surprise. They won the first game and had an early lead.
However, the North Korean duo retaliated immediately with controlled aggression. The Indians also fought back at 6-6. But eventually, Cha and Pak won the second game.
Match
Ayhika-Surtirtha took the lead again; North Koreans bounced back
Both Ayhika and Sutirtha looked extremely confident on the table as they brought their best game to the semi-final. They played fearlessly and their immaculate understanding helped them snare the third game.
But the duo of Cha and Pak is also world-class because of their ability to handle pressure and they did it really well every time they trailed. They took home Game 4.
Match
North Koreans went ahead, Indians clawed their way back
Carrying their momentum from Game 4, the North Korean duo also took away the fifth game to lead the match for the first time. It was a tight game but Cha and Pak held their own in the crucial exchanges to sneak ahead of their competitors.
However, Ayhika and Sutirtha came back in the match brilliantly to dominate Game 6 and force the decider.
Match
The Indian duo faltered in the decider
The North Koreans came out all guns blazing and they surprised the Indian pair with their aggressive gameplay in the decider.
Hence, Cha and Pak took an early lead and maintained it throughout to close out the match.
Ultimately, Ayhika and Sutirtha went down 11-7, 8-11, 11-7, 8-11, 9-11, 11-5, 2-11 against the unseeded North Korean pairing to finish with the bronze medal.
Record
Ayhika-Sutirtha defeated Chinese pairing in the quarter-finals
Ayhika and Sutirtha grabbed the eyeballs of every Indian when they won the historic quarter-finals against China's Meng Chen and Yidi Wang.
The win helped them secure a historic bronze medal in women's doubles table tennis.
The Indian duo won 11-5, 11-5, 5-11 and 11-9 against the reigning World Champion pairing.
Hardly anyone gave any chance to the Indian world number 16 duo.
Table tennis
India have won three TT medals at the Asian Games
This is India's third bronze medal in table tennis at the Asian Games.
They have previously won two bronze medals in the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta. The Indian men's team won the bronze medal in the last edition.
Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra also paired up in the mixed doubles in 2018 Jakarta to bag an Asian Games bronze medal.