Asian Table Tennis Team Championships 2025: India men finish sixth, women eighth

India’s campaign at the Asian Table Tennis Team Championships 2025 concluded in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday, with the men finishing sixth and the women eighth.

In the men’s 5-6th place playoff, the Indian table tennis team went down 3-0 to the Republic of Korea.

Manav Thakkar fell 3-1 (11-7, 9-11, 11-3, 11-7) to Oh Jun-sung in the opening match before Snehit Suravajjula followed with a 3-1 (11-7, 8-11, 11-6, 11-7) loss to Park Gyu-hyeon.

Payas Jain also took one game off An Jae-hyun but eventually went down 3-1 (12-10, 11-8, 7-11, 11-8), handing South Korea a clean sweep.

Earlier, India had defeated the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea 3-2 in the men’s 5-8th position playoff. Thakkar gave India a strong start with a straight-game win over Ham Yu-song.

Though Manush Shah lost 3-1 to Ri Jong Sik, Ankur Bhattacharjee edged Chon Jong Bom 3-2 to restore India’s lead.

Thakkar then lost a tight five-game battle to Ri Jong Sik, leveling the table tennis tie 2-2. However, Manush Shah fought back in the decider to beat Ham Yu Song 3-0 and seal the 3-2 victory.

Meanwhile, the Indian women’s table tennis team finished eighth after two narrow defeats.

India went down 3-2 to Hong Kong China in a tightly contested women’s team match for the 7-8th position classification match.

Yashaswini Ghorpade opened with a 3-2 loss to Su Tsz Tung (11-9, 11-7, 8-11, 12-14, 11-7) but Swastika Ghosh kept India in contention with a 3-1 (8-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-9) win over Ng Wing Lam. Diya Chitale then gave India the lead by beating Kong Tsz Lam 3-1 (11-7, 8-11, 11-5, 11-9).

However, Hong Kong China came back strong in the final two matches. Ghorpade lost 3-2 (8-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-6) to Ng Wing Lam and Ghosh went down 3-2 (8-11, 11-8, 11-13, 11-6, 11-4) to Su Tsz Tung.

Earlier in the day, India went down 3-1 to North Korea in the women’s 5-8th position playoff.

Diya Chitale lost her opening match 3-0 to Kim Kum-yong. Manika Batra then fought back to win one game but fell 3-1 against Cha Su-yong. Yashaswini Ghorpade kept India in the tie with a 3-2 win over Pak Su Gyong. However, North Korea’s win was sealed following a walkover from Batra.

Both Indian teams had earlier bowed out in the quarter-finals, with the men losing to Hong Kong China while the women went down against Singapore.

The 28th edition of the Asian Championships also serves as a qualifier for the 2026 ITTF World Team Championships Finals in London. Both the Indian men’s and women’s teams have already secured their spots through the South Asian Regional Championships in Kathmandu in August.

The Asian Table Tennis Team Championships will conclude on Wednesday.

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