CHENNAI: The Indian women’s table tennis team was in for a rude shock as it was swept away by the North Korean women’s team in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Asian Games on Tuesday. After surviving a scare against Singapore and beating Thailand in the round of 16, the women’s team led by Olympian Sreeja Akula was fancied to come out triumph against a North Korean team, which had no player ranked inside the top 100 of the WTT world rankings.
Sreeja Akula — No 58 — faced Kim Kung Yong (World rank 159) in the first of five scheduled singles ties and was dealt with a blow in the form of a straight-set defeat (11-7, 11-6, 11-5). Yashaswini Ghorpade, who won the decisive tie in India's 3-2 win over Thailand in the pre-quarterfinals, was expected to bring her team back into the contest but the youngster also faced straight-set defeat against Pyon Song Gyong, who is ranked almost 100 places below the Indian. In a 19-minute game, Ghorpade unfortunately could not find an opening in the three sets. India's hopes then rested on Diya Chitale's shoulders. However, a similar plotline ensued with Chitale, ranked 66th, going down to 169th-ranked Cha So Yong 0-3.
A defeat of this sort may dent their confidence ahead of their singles and doubles events in the coming days. Ghorpade and Chitale are expected to play together in the women’s doubles event. Chitale and Manush Shah — ranked World No 8 as a mixed doubles pair — will open their campaign on Wednesday against Sri Lanka’s Chanul Kulappuwawadu and Swarna Bimandee in round two of the event.
Men’s team crashes out
While the women’s team were only a win away from playing for a medal, the men’s team bowed out in the round of 16 after losing against South Korea. Harmeet Desai opened with a win in the first game against his Korean opponent Jang Woo-jin. However, he went on to lose the next three games and the match 1-3. In the second match, Manush did not have a good start against Oh Jungsung but went on to win the next two games. However in the fourth game, Manush lost 11-13 and could not fight back in the next game. There was no respite for India as Manav Thakkar began with a 10-12 loss in the first game, before losing the third match to An Jaeh-yun 1-3 (10-12, 6-11, 11-7, 10-12).
Results: Women quarterfinals: North Korea 3 bt India 0 (Kim Kum Yong bt Sreeja Akula 3-0 [11-7, 11-6, 11-5], Pyon Song Gyong bt Yashaswini Ghorpade 3-0 [11-4, 11-3, 11-6], Cha Su Yong bt Diya Chitale 3-0 [9-11, 7-11, 8-11]); Men round of 16: South Korea 3 bt India 0 (Harmeet Desai lost to Jang Woo-jin 1-3 [11-8, 7-11, 8-11, 9-11], Manush Shah lost to Oh Jungsung 2-3 [4-11, 11-8, 13-11, 11-13, 6-11], Manav Thakkar lost to An Jaeh-yun 1-3 [10-12, 6-11, 11-7, 10-12]).