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Indian paddlers Ayhika Mukherjee and Sreeja Akula stupefied the world's top two players, Sun Yingsha and Wang Yidi in World Table Tennis Team Championships in Busan, South Korea on February 16. However, the spirited effort was not enough to beat China as India went down 2-3.
The 155th-ranked Ayhika caused a huge upset to pull off a shocking 12-10 2-11 13-11 11-6 win against world no.1 Yingsha.
However, India's star shuttler, world no.36 Manika Batra was not a match for world no.4 Wang Manyu as she lost in four games (3-11 8-11 15-13 7-11).
Sreeja rode on the momentum and beat Yidi 11-7 11-9 13-11 to give India a lead. In the fourth encounter, Manika had a chance to redeem herself but she went down to Yinghsa in four games (3-11 6-11 13-11 9-11).
With a 2-2 tie, all eyes were on Ayhika again. However, she could not repeat the heroics and went down to Manyu in straight games (9-11 11-13 6-11).
While India fell short of a historic win against China, the stupendous performances are a big positive ahead of the Paris Olympics 2024.
The Indian women's team will go up against Hungary on February 18.
Ayhika, Sreeja’s record so far
So far, the 26-year-old Ayhika has one gold and three silver medals in South Asian Games. In the Hangzhou Asian Games, she won a bronze medal in the women’s doubles event.
On the other hand, Sreeja has two gold medals in South Asian Games. She won a gold medal in the mixed doubles event at Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022.
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