The Indian team concluded their campaign at the 2024 ATTU Asian Table Tennis Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan with a total of 3 bronze medals on Sunday. The women’s doubles duo of Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee settled for a bronze medal after losing their semifinal match on the final day.
Sutirtha Mukherjee and Ayhika Mukherjee suffered a 0-3 (4-11, 9-11, 9-11) defeat against the Japanese pair of Miwa Harimoto and Miyuu Kihara in the semis. On Saturday, Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee had secured a 3-1 (10-12, 11-7, 11-9, 11-8) victory over the South Korean duo of Kim Nayeong and Lee Eunhye in the quarter-finals.
This was India’s inaugural medal in the Women’s Doubles category at the ATTU Asian Championships, which began in 1972 and is currently in its 27th edition. Both the Indian Men’s and Women’s Teams had already won bronze medals in the previous stages of the tournament.
The Indian paddlers were unable to secure a medal in any of the singles competitions. Nevertheless, they did cause some major upsets. Manav Thakkar, who is ranked 60th in the world, defeated 14th-ranked Jang Woojin of South Korea with a score of 5-11, 11-9, 5-11, 11-9, and 11-7. Additionally, Manush, ranked 115th, defeated 23rd-ranked An Jaehyun of South Korea with an impressive score of 11-9, 11-5, and 11-6.
Manush also put up a strong performance against World No. 11 Lin Yun-Ju from Taiwan, taking the match to the fifth set before ultimately falling short. Manika Batra also advanced to the round of 16 but was defeated by World No. 7 Miwa Harimoto in a four-setter.
This achievement marks India’s joint-best performance in the ATTU Asian Table Tennis Championships, matching the record of 3 bronze medals earned back in 2021. However, it is worth noting that the Chinese players did not participate in that particular edition.
Gool Nasikwala had won three gold medals in various events at the 1952 tournament, which was organized by the TTFA. She had claimed gold in women’s singles and had combined with Jayant Kalyanpur to win gold in Mixed Doubles. Additionally, she had teamed up with Yoshiko Tanaka of Japan to take home gold in the Women’s Doubles category.
