India’s U-19 boys’ table tennis team created history by reaching the final of the ITTF World Youth Championships for the first time.
The team, comprising Ankur Bhattacharjee, P.B. Abhinandh, and Priyanuj Bhattacharya, defeated Chinese Taipei 3-2 in a thrilling semifinal clash in Romania on Monday. India will now face Japan in the final later on Tuesday.
Bhattacharjee gave India an early lead by beating Hsu Hsien-Chia 3-2. Kuo Guan-Hong responded with a 3-1 win over Abhinandh to level the score. Bhattacharya restored India’s advantage with a hard-fought 3-2 victory against Lin Chin-Ting.
Chinese Taipei forced a decider when Kuo defeated Bhattacharjee 3-0. However, Abhinandh rose to the occasion and sealed the tie with a commanding 3-0 win over Hsu, ensuring India’s place in the final.
Meanwhile, the India U-15 girls’ team — Ankolika Chakraborty, Divyanshi Bhowmick, and Ananya Muralidharan — settled for bronze after losing 0-3 to South Africa in their semifinal.
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