Sharath & Co win but women team loses in TT event at CWG

Indian men's table tennis team blanked hosts Scotland 3-0 to reach the semifinals but it was curtains for their women counterpart after they suffered a 1-3 loss to Singapore in the last four contest at the 20th Commonwealth Games here today.
Soumyajit Ghosh started the proceedings for Indian men's team as he brushed aside 29-year-old Gavin Rumgay 11-6 11-5 11-6 to put India ahead at the Scotstoun Sports Campus.
Experienced campaigner Achanta Sharath Kamal then took the court and notched up a 11-7 11-7 11-8 win over Craig Howieson to make it 2-0.
The hosts needed a win in the third match to stay afloat but Harmeet Desai and Ghosh put paid to their hopes after beating the pair Sean Doherty and Craig 11-7 11-8 11-6 to complete the 3-0 drubbing.

For the Indian women's team, who had lost to Singapore at Delhi Games to settle for silver, Manika Batra was the only bright spot.
Shamini Kumaresan was given the responsibility to give India a positive start but the Indian lost to Tienwei Feng 1-11 11-13 5-11 in the first match.

Manika then played her heart out and eked out a 11-7 5-11 11-8 5-11 11-7 win over Mengyu Yu to help India draw level at 1-1 after the second match.
Madhurika Patkar and Kumaresan then paired up but they could not get across Lin Ye and Mengyu as they went down 9-11 7-11 5-11 as Singapore were leading 2-1.

In the fourth match, the onus was put on Manika again to bring India back in the contest. The Delhi girl tried her best before going down 9-11 11-9 6-11 5-11 as India crashed out of the competition.
Earlier, the women's team had defeated New Zealand 3-0 and Shamini Kumaresan played a vital role in the victory.