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The Indian men's team kicked off their campaign in the World Team Table Table Tennis Championship with a rampant 3-0 win against Chile at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Centre (BESCO) in South Korea on Saturday, February 17.
Experienced paddler Sharath Kamal Achanta steamrolled World No. 53 Nicolas Burgos to set the tone for his team. He looked far better than his recent faded form that prevented him from qualifying in the main draws of the WTT Star Contender Goa last month.
The 41-year-old fired everything under his armor to outsmart Burgos in the first and third games even though a challenge in the second didn't deter his cause. A 3-0 blank put India into a strong position before Harmeet Desai doubled the lead.
Harmeet forced some shots out but was composed in the rallies to keep Gustavo Gomez at bay in all three games played between the two. A sumptuous backhand in the third set was the zenith of Harmeet's class in the three games. The reigning Indian national took a few steps back once the rallies got longer.
G Sathiyan finishes the proceedings
Sathiyan Gnanasekaran was the only one to face some serious challenges against Chile. Felipe Olivares tested him with the cross-hits, with the Indian forcing errors wasn't the thing of his aptitude.
Sathiyan made some quick counters to claw back his feet into the game. This was the first time where deuce and advantage came into effect to decide the tie. Sathityan won those points to make a sturdy fightback.
With the scores tied at 8-8 courtesy of a seesaw battle between Sathiyan and Felipe in the third tie, the former hit one low shot at the middle edge of his opposite end to plunder the winner. Within seconds, he won the game to muster India's first win in the World Championship.
Results
India 3-0 Chile
Sharath Kamal 3-0 Nicolas Burgos (11-5, 11-8, 11-6)
Harmeet Desai 3-0 Gustavo Gomez (11-8, 11-7, 11-6)
Sathiyan Gnanasekaran 3-0 Felipe Olivares (12-10, 11-8, 11-8)
