New Delhi, May 9 (IANS) Soumyajit Ghosh and Mouma Das secured a silver in the mixed doubles at the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships here Thursday, a day on which India made sure of at least six other medals.
India’s top player Sharath Kamal assured himself of a medal after edging past old Singapore rival Yang Zi 11-3, 11-7, 9-11, 9-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-9 for a place in the semifinals. Losing semifinalists across categories will be awarded a bronze.
Defending men’s doubles champions Sharath and Subhajit Saha are also through to the last four, beating Nigerian combine of Ojo Onaolapo and Oiajide Omotayo in straight games.
Besides the mixed doubles silver, veteran Mouma sealed two more medals by reaching the semifinals of the singles and doubles event.
She defeated higher-ranked Joanna Parker of England 11-6, 9-11, 11-6, 11-8, 13-11 and teamed up with Shamini Kumaresan to win another quarterfinal. Manika Batra got the better of compatriot Pooja Sahasrabudhe in her singles last eight match, chalking out a 12-10, 11-5, 11-13, 11-5, 11-4 win.
The two medals will come from the women’s doubles as Neha Aggarwal and Madhurika Patkar also advanced to the semifinals. Mouma-Shamini got past Malaysia’s Lee Wei Beh and Sock Khim NG 11-3, 10-12, 11-7, 11-7 while the Neha-Madhurika pairing dispatched compatriots Divya Deshpande and Pooja Sahasrabudhe 12-10, 11-4, 11-3.
The last match of the day was the mixed doubles final and it turned out to be a one-sided affair. Singapore’s Zhan Jian and Zhou Yihan were too good for Ghosh and Mouma, winning the crown with a 11-3, 13-11, 11-7 scoreline.
Expectations were high from the Indians, who beat top seeds from Singapore, Yang Zi and Yu Mengyu, 11-9, 11-6, 12-10, in the semifinals.
“We beat the top seeds but our final opponents were too quick. They played really well,” Ghosh told IANS. He and Mouma were leading 7-3 in the third game before losing the next eight points.
Sharath’s match against Yang Zi had the crowd on the edge of their seats. World No. 69 controlled the first game until the Singaporean made a remarkable to comeback to win the next three. The contest went into the seventh deciding game where Sharath took a crucial 6-4 lead. After a few more fiercely contested points, it was 8-8. Sharath had the advantage of his serve but it was the spectacular forehand retrieve that had him fired up, making it 10-8. He exulted after hitting a sizzling forehand winner.
“That point which made 10-8 did it for me,” said a relieved Sharath.
India also won a silver and bronze in the team championships which ended Wednesday. With a day left in the tournament, India has won nine medals, surpassing the last edition’s tally of seven.
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