India bounced back from their defeat to Iran with a commanding 3-0 victory over Pakistan in the men’s table tennis team event at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya on Monday.
Harmeet Desai gave India a winning start, defeating Khan Muhammad 11-4, 11-3, 11-5 in straight games in the opening match.
Sathiyan Gnanasekaran then doubled India’s advantage with another 3-0 win, overcoming Abbas Khan 11-1, 11-8, 11-9.
Payas Jain completed the clean sweep in the third match, beating Khan Muhammad 11-2, 11-5, 11-7 as India sealed the tie without dropping a single game.
The victory provided a strong response from India after their surprise loss to Iran in their previous outing. India had opened their campaign with a win over Indonesia.
The result temporarily took India to the top of Group F with five points from three matches, ahead of Iran, who still have a match against Indonesia remaining.
In the women’s team event, India also secured a place in the quarterfinals after blanking Pakistan in their second Group F match on Monday.
The Indian women’s team had begun its campaign with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Singapore on Sunday before sealing their quarterfinal berth with a comprehensive win over Pakistan. (ANI)
