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After a brilliant start to their campaign, the Indian men’s team went down to Poland 3-1 in their second group stage match on Sunday, February 18, at the World Team Table Tennis Championship 2024, taking place at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Centre (BESCO) in South Korea.
India’s veteran paddler, Achanta Sharath Kamal, went down to Jakub Dyjas in the opening match of the tie, but Harmeet Desai leveled terms for India, beating Maciej Kubik. Manav Thakkar went down in a thrilling five-set battle to Milosz Redzimski before Harmeet lost his second match in the tie to Jakub Dyjas to hand Poland the win. India now sits second in the group standings behind South Korea.
A closer look at the Indian men’s team’s tie against Poland at the World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals 2024:
The first match saw highly experienced paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal take on Poland’s Jakub Dyjas. The 41-year-old Indian paddler, who played some incredible table tennis on Saturday, February 17, against Chile, seemed to continue his form against Dyjas.
Despite going down 8-11 in the first set, Kamal fought back to win the next one with an identical score as the first. In the third set, the Polish paddler demonstrated a more aggressive style, defeating Kamal 11-4. The fourth game saw the Indian find his footing once again, but it was not enough to wrap up the set. Sharath Kamal lost the match with a final score of 8-11, 11-8, 4-11, 10-12.
In the second match of the tie, India’s Harmeet started proceedings with a close-fought first-set battle, edging past Kubik 12-10. The 30-year-old played some incredible shots and sealed the thrilling second game 13-11 to lead the match 2-0. The third game saw the Polish player fight back and win the set 11-9 before Desai wrapped things up 11-5 and made it 1-1 to level terms for India.
With the tie level, youngster Manav Thakkar, who has been in phenomenal form, recently faced off against Milosz Redzimski. Thakkar went down 9-11 in the first game, but the 23-year-old paddler shrugged off the initial nerves and went on to win the next two games with scores of 11-9 and 14-12. The fourth game saw Redzimski find his rhythm once again and make a comeback to win the set 11-6. The Polish paddler also went on to win the next game 11-7 to give Poland the lead.
The fourth match of the tie saw India’s Harmeet Desai, who won his first match, up against Poland’s Jakub Dyjas. Dyjas started off the match strongly, winning the first couple of games 11-7. Desai went on to fight back and take the next one 11-8, but the 28-year-old from Poland kept his composure in the fourth set and sealed things at 14-12 to win the match and tie for Poland.
India will now take on South Korea on Monday, February 19.
Results
India 1-3 Poland
Sharath Kamal 1-3 Jakub Dyjas (8-11, 11-8, 4-11, 10-12)
Harmeet Desai 3-1 Maciej Kubik (12-10, 13-11, 9-11, 11-5)
Manav Thakkar 2-3 Milosz Redzimski (9-11, 11-9, 14-12, 6-11, 7-11)
Harmeet Desai 1-3 Jakub Dyjas (7-11, 7-11, 11-8, 12-14)
