India beat Pakistan 3-0 to storm men’s fixtures at Asian Table Tennis Games

India bounced back from a 0-3 defeat to Iran by beating Pakistan 3-0 in the men’s competition at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Monday. The win helped India finish second in Group F and secure a place in the pre-quarterfinals where they will face South Korea on Tuesday.

India opened their campaign with a 3-0 win over Indonesia before running into an unbeaten Iranian side. They responded with a dominant display against Pakistan, winning all three matches in a row. Iran finished top of Group F with six points, while India finished second with five points from three matches. Indonesia finished third and Pakistan fourth.

Harmeet Desai set the tone for India in the opening match as he defeated Pakistan’s Muhammad Khan 11-4, 11-3, 11-5. Desai controlled the match from the start and gave India an early advantage without losing a game.

G Sathiyan then consolidated India’s position with another straight games win. The Indian skipper defeated Abbas Khan 11-1, 11-8, 11-9 to move his side one win away from sealing a tie.

Payas Jain completed the clean sweep in the third match by beating second seed Muhammad Khan 11-2, 11-5, 11-7. India finished the match without losing a single match and responded strongly after the setback against Iran.

INDIA WOMEN ALSO DEFEAT PAKISTAN BOTH TEAMS SHAKE HANDS

Also, the Indian women’s team beat Pakistan 3-0 on Mondaytop of Group F with three wins from three games. Sutirtha Mukherjee, Syndrela Das and Sreeja Akula won their singles matches in straight games.

Sutirtha defeated Aleena Khan 11-3, 11-3, 11-4 before 17-year-old Syndrela beat Kalsoom Khan 11-6, 11-7, 11-5. Sreeja then sealed the tie with an 11-4, 11-4, 11-5 win over Fatima Khan.

Both India-Pakistan ties ended with players from both teams shaking hands at the net. These moments provided a sporting edge to two one-sided contests.

The men’s team qualified for the knockout stage with a win over Pakistan after two wins from three group matches. The result also gave India a chance to move forward after their disappointing outing against Iran.

The knockout match will determine which team advances to the quarter-finals as India continue their medal campaign in Aichi-Nagoya.

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Published on:

21 Sep 2026 20:19 IST