India fought back from a 1-2 deficit to defeat Thailand 3-2 in the women’s team table tennis Round of 16 at the Asian Games 2026 on Tuesday, with Sreeja Akula securing the win in the deciding match.
India had a difficult start as Orawan Paranang recovered from two games down to beat Sreeja 7-11, 1-11, 11-9, 11-6, 12-10 and put Thailand ahead.
Yashaswini Ghorpade levelled the tie with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Suthasini Sawettabut. She won the opening game 11-8 but dropped the next two 5-11, 7-11 before fighting back to take the fourth and fifth games 11-9, 11-9.
Thailand regained the lead when Diya Chitale lost a closely contested five-game match against Jinnapan Sawettabut. Chitale had a match point at 10-9 in the deciding game, but Jinnapan held her nerve to win 13-11. The match ended 7-11, 11-5, 11-7, 7-11, 11-13.
With India trailing 1-2, Yashaswini produced a dominant display against Paranang, winning 11-5, 11-8, 11-9 in 21 minutes to level the tie and force a decider.
Sreeja then held her nerve against Suthasini in the deciding match. After losing the opening game 9-11, she won the next two 11-6, 12-10 to take a 2-1 lead.
Trailing 6-8 in the fourth game, Sreeja produced a strong finish, winning five consecutive points before closing out the match 11-9, 11-6, 12-10, 11-8.
India will face North Korea in the women’s team quarter-final.
Elsewhere, Sakshi Chaudhary defeated Philippines’ Aira Villegas in the women’s 51kg boxing Round of 32, while India’s men’s kabaddi team defeated South Korea 63-31 in their Group A fixture.
In shooting, Elavenil Valarivan and Parth Mane finished second in the 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team qualification before ending fourth in the final.
In soft tennis, Jay Meena defeated Pakistan’s Hussain Arain 4-0 in the men’s singles Group D, while Aadhya Tiwari lost 1-4 to Thailand’s Alisha Ziegler in the women’s singles.
Wushu’s Langlentombi Devi Hanjabam finished ninth in the women’s Nanquan final, while Sachin and Hemash Singh finished fourth in their respective pools in the men’s individual foil.
In swimming, Aryan Nehra finished fourth in the men’s 1,500m freestyle B final. The Indian 4x100m medley relay team of Rishabh Das, Akash Mani, Benediction Beniston and Dhanush Suresh finished seventh in the heats to qualify for the final.
Chetan Bhatt lost the men’s 84kg kumite bronze medal bout, while Alisha Choudhary suffered a 1-6 defeat to Indonesia’s Cok Istri Agung Sanistyarani in the women’s -55kg Round of 16.
India also lost 0-3 to Malaysia in the men’s Team Regu event in sepaktakraw. In equestrian dressage, Ashish Limaye finished 13th, Arjan Nagra 23rd and Fouaad Mirza 26th.
(ANI Inputs)
