Los Angeles, June 29: In an exciting match at the World Table Tennis (WTT) US Smash, India’s Human Thakkar triumphed over France’s Flavien Coton with a score of 3-2. This intense first-round match showcased Thakkar’s resilience, as he won the first game 12-10 but lost the second by the same score. He made a strong comeback, clinching the match with scores of 12-10, 10-12, 11-7, 7-11, and 11-7.
In contrast, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran faced an early exit. Despite saving a match point in the third game, he was defeated by Japan’s Yuta Tanaka in a 3-0 (5-11, 7-11, 10-12) loss during their first-round encounter held at the Ontario Convention Center.
Among other Indian players, Yashaswini Ghorpade is set to begin her campaign against third seed Yuling Zhu from Macau, while Manika Batra will face Japanese wildcard Sakura Yokoi in another Round of 64 match.
Top Indian singles player and Olympian Shrija Akula will compete against South Korea’s 16th seed Cheon-Hui Ju in the Round of 64. Additionally, the fifth-seeded pair of Manush Shah and Daya Chitale will kick off their mixed doubles campaign against American wildcards Jishan Liang and Sally Moyland.
In women’s doubles, the seventh-seeded duo of Ghorpade and Chitale will start their campaign on Tuesday. Human Thakkar will also compete in men’s singles against world number one Wang Chuqin. In men’s doubles, the fifth-seeded team of Thakkar and Manush Shah will await their opponents in the Round of 16.
In the men’s singles ‘Last 32’ round, Wang Chuqin secured his place in the next round by defeating his compatriot Zhou Kihao in straight games. Chinese players Lin Shidong and Chen Yuanyu also advanced, with Lin overcoming South Korea’s Park Gang-Hyeon 11-5, 11-2, 11-6, and Chen defeating local wildcard Nandan Naresh 11-6, 11-8, 8-11, 11-4.
In a surprising turn, Taiwan’s Lin Yun-Ju, seeded seventh, was eliminated by compatriot Kuo Guan-Hong in a five-game match.
In women’s singles, China’s second seed Wang Manyu defeated 15-year-old American player Irene Yeoh 11-5, 11-3, 11-4, alongside her teammates Kuaiman and Shi Shunyao, who also reached the ‘Last 32’.
Both Chinese and American pairs were eliminated in the first round of men’s doubles. Jiu Fei and Kanak Jha lost to China’s Yuan Lishen and Wen Ruibo 3-1, while Bosman Botha and Kin Yuxuan were defeated by local pair Naresh and Jessica Reyes Lai in three games.
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