HANGZHOU: An edge-of-the-seat thriller played out in the semifinals of the women's doubles table tennis competition between India and North Korea before the now-famous Mukherjee girls - Sutirtha and Ayhika - lost the plot and their range of shots in the decider to settle for a bronze.
It was neck-and-neck till the sixth game, with the two teams locked at three-all, before the Indians ran out of steam to offer the unseeded North Koreans, Suyong Cha and Sugyong Pak, an advantage of six match points, which they duly cashed in. The eighth-seed Indians lost 4-3 (11-7, 8-11, 11-7, 8-11, 9-11, 11-5, 2-11) in a last-four stage match in 60 minutes. Losing semifinalists are awarded the bronze in table tennis at the Asian Games.
