The Indian team got their campaign at the Asian Table Tennis Championships off to a flying start in Lucknow on Monday. The hosts reached the knockout stages of the first division after triumphing in their round-robin league matches in both the mens and the womens sections,with the women defeating Nepal,Laos and Kazakhstan to dominate Group D.
Reigning national champion Kumaresan Shamini led from the front,registering a comprehensive victory over Sengdavan Douangpanya as the hosts defeated Laos 3-0. The Chennai girl then led from the front,helping the hosts beat Nepal and Kazakhstan both with a 3-0 scoreline.
The Indian men defeated Jordan and Uzbekistan in Group B and got a walkover from Turkmenistan,who did not turn up for the event.
Results: Men: Group A: Pakistan bt Indonesia w/o; Macao bt Indonesia w/o; Macao bt Pakistan 3-0; Group B: India bt Turkmenistan w/o; Uzbekistan bt Jordan 3-1; India beat Uzbekistan 3-0; Jordan bt Turkmenistan 3-0; India beat Jordan 3-0; Group C: DPR Korea bt Nepal 3-1; Malaysia bt Sri Lanka 3-1; Iran bt Bangladesh 3-0; Thailand bt Laos 3-0; DPR Korea bt Malaysia 3-1; Sri Lanka bt Nepal 3-1; Group D: Iran bt Bangladesh 3-0; Thailand bt Laos 3-0; Iran bt Thailand 3-0; Bangladesh bt Laos 3-2.
Women: Group A: DPR Korea bt Pakistan 3-0; DPR Korea bt Macao 3-0; Macao bt Pakistan 3-0; Group B: Thailand bt Jordan 3-0; Thailand bt Uzbekistan 3-0; Uzbekistan bt Jordan 3-0; Group C: Malaysia bt Sri Lanka 3-0; Sri Lanka bt Bangladesh 3-0; Malaysia bt Bangladesh 3-0; Group D: India beat Laos 3-0; Kazakhstan bt Nepal 3-1; India beat Nepal 3-0; Kazakhstan bt Laos 3-0. India beat Kazakhstan 3-0