Asian Games 2023 table tennis: Ayhika Mukherjee-Sutirtha Mukherjee win bronze medal in women’s doubles
The Mukherjees lost the semi-finals 4-3 to the North Koreans. This is India’s first medal in the women’s doubles and third overall in table tennis at the Asian Games.
Table Tennis
Indian table tennis players Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee picked up a historic bronze medal in the women’s doubles tournament at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou, the People’s Republic of China.
Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee lost to Suyong Cha and Sugyong Pak of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in the semi-finals 4-3 (11-7, 8-11, 11-7, 8-11, 9-11, 11-5, 2-11) on Monday. The match lasted 60 minutes.
Losing semi-finalists are awarded the bronze medal in table tennis at the Asian Games.
In the semis, the Mukherjee duo relied on their defensive strength, forcing errors out of the DPR Korean pair to take the first game 11-7. However, Suyong Cha and Sugyong Pak fought back to win the second game 11-8.
Both pairs took a game each next and were level at 2-2 and there was very little separating them. Suyong Cha and Sugyong Pak took an early lead in the fifth game, but Sutirtha and Ayhika didn’t let their opponents slip away. The lead kept going back and forth, but some late errors saw DPR Korea go 3-2 up in the match.
Sutirtha Mukherjee and Ayhika Mukherjee changed gears in the sixth game and attacked their opponents with terrific combination play. They raced to a 6-1 lead and gained crucial momentum, before wrapping up the game 11-5.
The Indian table tennis pair, however, faltered in the decider and conceded a 6-1 lead in under three minutes. Suyong Cha and Sugyong Pak capitalised on the unforced errors and won the final game 11-2 to make it to the final.
Earlier in the quarter-finals, Ayhika and Sutirtha pulled off a spectacular result, defeating China’s world No. 2 duo and defending world champions in women’s doubles, Chen Meng and Wang Yidi 3-1 (11-5, 11-5, 5-11, 11-9). Chen Meng is also a two-time Olympic gold medallist.
Along the way, the Indian table tennis players also beat Thailand’s Wanwisa Aueawiriyayothin and Jinnipa Sawettabut 3-0 (11-8, 11-7, 11-4) in the round of 16 and Kazakhstan’s Zauresh Akasheva and Anastassiya Lavrova 3-0 (11-7, 11-4, 11-7) in the opener.
In Tunis earlier this year, the Mukherjees became the first Indians to win the WTT Contender women’s doubles title. The Indian duo is ranked 16th in the world.
India finished their Asian Games 2023 table tennis campaign in Hangzhou with one medal.
India have won three medals in table tennis so far. The previous two medals came at Jakarta 2018 - Manika Batra and Sharath Kamal paired up in mixed doubles to bag a bronze, while the men’s team finished third on the podium.