Indian table tennis men's team settled for a historic bronze medal after losing 0-3 to South Korea in a lop-sided semifinal at the 18th Asian Games on Tuesday.
The team comprising G Sathiyan, Achanta Sharath Kamal, and A Amalraj couldn't put up a fight against the mighty Koreans, who set up a summit clash against defending champions China in a repeat of 2014 edition.
Rising star G Sathiyan, ranked 39, suffered 11-9 9-11 3-11 3-11 loss to Lee Sangsu in the opening game as India lagged 0-1.
Experienced Sharath Kamal, world No 33, was then entrusted with the responsibility to bring India back in the game and he did put up a fight before going down 9-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-7, 8-11 to Young Sik Jeoung in the second match as South Korea lead the tie 2-0.
In the deciding third game, Amalraj was beaten 5-11 7-11 11-4 7-11 by 22-year-old Woojin Jang as South Korea clinched the tie 3-0.
India had yesterday defeated fancied Japan 3-1 in the quarterfinals to assure the country its first-ever Asian Games medal in table tennis.
India did not have a single medal in the sport which was introduced in the Games program in 1958. The likes of China (61 gold), Japan (20) and South Korea (10) swept the medals for a long time.
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