On Friday morning in Busan, Ayhika Mukherjee and Sreeja Akula produced one thing that not many would have seen coming. Unbelievable doesn’t fairly start to explain it because the Indian paddlers beat the highest two gamers on this planet – No 1 Solar Yingsha and No 2 Wang Yidi – of their respective singles matches at on the ITTF World Workforce Desk Tennis Championships Finals 2024 in a Group 1 fixture between India and China.
Finally, the powerhouses would come by way of as Manika Batra misplaced matches No 2 and 4, whereas Ayhika couldn’t fairly pull off one other upset towards Wang Manyu, world No 4 within the decider. However, the general consequence however, the 2 upsets marked a monumental morning for the game. “What an unbelievable morning,” tweeted Olympian Neha Aggarwal Sharma when India led the tie 2-1. “It’s a rating we have now been ready to see for therefore a few years.”
It was solely in Hangzhou not too long ago that Ayhika – alongside her childhood buddy Sutirtha Mukherjee – shocked the desk tennis neighborhood and grabbed headlines. The childhood associates from Naihati, who started taking part in desk tennis as a result of their moms launched them to the game, produced arguably the single-most gorgeous consequence for India on the Asian Video games. Chinese language paddlers merely don’t lose fairly often, not to mention in their very own yard. And so the win for the Mukherjees, not associated to one another, towards reigning world champions after which world quantity 2 Chinese language duo of Chen Meng and Wang Yidi within the quarterfinals was seismic. It assured India’s first in girls’s doubles on the Asian Video games.
Scorecard of each the video games. (Screengrab)
Then there may be Sreeja, who made her mark on the earlier multi-nation occasion in Birmingham on the Commonwealth Video games. The nationwide champion had a breakthrough match, her blended doubles gold with Achanta Sharath Kamal certainly one of India’s extra memorable medals from the occasion. The Telangana teenager has had a busy time not too long ago, travelling consistently within the quest of rating factors. Some doubts had crept in as she was unable to make an enormous splash on the worldwide circuit however the choice to play a lower-tier WTT occasion in Texas proved to be essential as she received the title in Corpus Christi. It gave her the idea that she might win a world match by beating high gamers.
Having made their marks on the rostrum at these two main occasions within the final couple of years, each Ayhika and Sreeja scripted probably their largest wins individually.
First, the 26-year-old Ayhika beat world No 1 Solar Yinghsa in 4 video games to present India a 1-0 lead. Quickly after, Sreeja shocked world No 2 Wang Yidi – who was additionally on the receiving finish of the Mukherjees’ upset in Hangzhou – in straight video games to place India in a surreal place towards the serial world champions, main 2-1.
It was solely in January final yr that Ayhika thought her profession was over. “I’ve seen desk tennis gamers being pressured to retire resulting from decrease again accidents. I believed the identical would occur to me and there was no method I used to be going to bounce again from this,” Ayhika had mentioned after the bronze in Hangzhou with Sutirtha.
However she confirmed loads of grit and resolve towards Solar within the tie-opener. She pumped her fist as she saved three recreation factors within the opener, successful 5 in a row to take it 12-10. The second recreation was one-way site visitors as Solar breezed by way of 11-2 after which had a 9-5 lead in Recreation 3. Ayhika as soon as once more fought again, taking the third recreation 13-11. Within the fourth recreation, the Indian as soon as once more completed strongly with 5 factors in a row from 6-6. The consequence was a first-ever defeat for Solar in group World Championship occasions for China, as per WTT.
Good file COLLAPSED 🤯
Ayhika Mukherjee arms Solar Yingsha her first defeat EVER at a groups occasion at #ITTFWorlds2024 😱
Can Workforce India take down the defending champions? Tune in LIVE at https://t.co/WzpUvKTnKl to search out out 📺 #Busan2024 #TableTennis #PingPong pic.twitter.com/tGv0PN6mq3
— World Desk Tennis (@WTTGlobal) February 16, 2024
Within the second match, Manika Batra took a recreation off Wang Manyu however went down in 4. Sreeja was in motion subsequent and Wang Yidi was defeated in straight video games, because the Indian produced a forehand masterclass to pocket the primary two video games 11-7 and 11-9. Sreeja led 8-2 within the third recreation and the end line was in sight however Wang Yidi fought again to have a recreation level at 10-9. It was the forehand that after once more got here to her rescue as Sreeja made it 10-10, and it will be a powerful inside-out forehand winner that gave her a match level that she transformed. There was barely a celebration from the Indian although, nevertheless it was an enormous win for, persevering with her good run of latest kind.
The Worlds in Busan is an important occasion as Indian groups also can qualify for the Olympics in the event that they attain their respective quarterfinals. “For India to qualify for the Olympics as a group, we have to get our particular person rating increased. The cut-off for qualification is mid-June so I’m able to play any tournaments, not simply contenders however feeders as properly,” Sreeja had advised The Indian Categorical in Goa not too long ago. “Final yr within the group championships we misplaced within the pre-quarterfinals to Chinese language Taipei however this yr everybody within the group has been performing properly. Our rankings are also collectively significantly better so we’re assured of creating it to Paris.”
The opposite groups in Group 1 that the Indian girls will face are Hungary, Spain and Uzbekistan. Indian males are in Group 3 with Korea, Poland, Chile and New Zealand. High three from every group enter the subsequent section of 24 groups, whereas the final eight seal their tickets to Paris.