NEW DELHI: India's Under-15 and Under-19 boys' squads achieved victories over Singapore and Hong Kong in the quarterfinals but settled for bronze medals overall at the 27th Asian Youth 2023 Table Tennis tournament in Doha.
The event served as a qualification tournament for the World Youth Championships scheduled for December in Slovenia.
Although the two Indian teams couldn't advance past the semifinals, they secured bronze medals from the competition. In the Under-15 girls' category, India suffered a 0-3 defeat in the quarterfinals against Japan.
However, the Under-19 girls' team managed to win a game against Japan but eventually lost 1-3.
In the Under-15 category, PB Abhinand played a crucial role by defeating Le Ellsworth from Singapore with a score of 11-9, 11-5, 11-7. Priyanuj Bhattacharyya faced some resistance from Xing Yao but emerged victorious with a score of 11-8, 9-11, 11-5, 12-10.
The Indian pair, despite struggling against Irle Eles and Zhou Jinghe, managed to secure a win with a score of 11-8, 11-5, 7-11, 6-11, 11-7. However, in the semi-finals, they faced a 0-3 defeat against China.
While the Indian teams couldn't make it to the finals, their performances earned them bronze medals in the tournament.
As for the U-19 boys, the Indians had a tough time against Hong Kong, with their quarterfinal going down to the last rubber in which Jash Modi turned the tables against Yiu Kwan to win 6-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-8, 11-2.
Modi, who lost his opening tie to Chan Baldwin Ho Wah 8-11, 5-11, 5-11, lost the first two games to Yiu before pulling up his socks to outwit him and put India in the semi-final.
Earlier, Ankur Bhattacharjee beat Yiu 11-8, 11-8. 11-7 before Divyansh Srivastava defeated Li Hon Man 11-6, 11-8, 8-11, 12-10 to seal the fate of Hong Kong players.
Like their juniors, the U-16 boys met championship favourites China in the semi-final and lost 0-3.
In position matches, the Under-19 girls finished seventh after beating Iran 3-0.
(With PTI inputs)
