<p> Indian women paddlers stunned fancied Thailand 3-0, while their male counterparts edged past Iran 3-2 to enter the Asian Table Tennis Championship quarterfinals here.<br /><br /></p>.<p>For the Indian women, it was their maiden entry into the champion division of the meet. They will now take on the Chinese.<br /><br />Though it will be tough against the champions, the Indian girls, particularly Poulomi Ghatak, can take pride in what they achieved against Thailand.<br /><br />Mouma Das opened the proceedings by beating Anisara Muangsuk in straight games of 11-9, 11-7, 12-10 while Poulomi kept the momentum by overcoming Nanthana Komwong with a 11-4, 14-12, 11-6 to give India a commanding lead.<br /><br />This lead proved decisive for Ankita Das who, despite losing a game to Suttlux Rattanaprayoon, won 14-12, 11-5, 10-12, 11-5, leaving Thailand to compete for the ninth place.<br /><br />National coach Bhavani Mukherjee praised national champion Poulomi for the gutsy play she put up against her Thai opponent.<br /><br />"Poulomi was too good today with her attacking game that left her opponent clueless. This momentum also helped Ankita in the third rubber," he said. The men paddlers also overcame a tough Iran 3-2 to move into the quarterfinals where they will meet Chinese Taipei. Earlier, they had beaten Bahrain and UAE with an identical 3-0 margin<br /><br />Noshad Alamiyan, backbone of Iran, first accounted for Soumyajit Ghosh 11-7, 11-5, 11-9 but Achanta Sharath Kamal restored parity with an 11-5, 16-14, 11-3 win over Akhlaghpasand Mohammad Reza.<br /><br />National champion A Amalraj then downed Alamian Darounkolaei Nima 11-8, 7-11, 11-8, 11-6 to put India in the lead.<br /><br />Sharath Kamal, however, lost his reverse singles to Alamiyan Daronkolaei Noshad 11-7, 9-11, 10-12, 6-11. But Ghosh played an altogether different game in the decider to beat Akhlaghpasand Mohammed Reza 11-8, 11-9, 11-4 and seal India a quarterfinal place.<br /><br />The format of the championships is that teams finishing first in each group progress to the knockout stage with two finalists from there entering the champion division.</p>
<p> Indian women paddlers stunned fancied Thailand 3-0, while their male counterparts edged past Iran 3-2 to enter the Asian Table Tennis Championship quarterfinals here.<br /><br /></p>.<p>For the Indian women, it was their maiden entry into the champion division of the meet. They will now take on the Chinese.<br /><br />Though it will be tough against the champions, the Indian girls, particularly Poulomi Ghatak, can take pride in what they achieved against Thailand.<br /><br />Mouma Das opened the proceedings by beating Anisara Muangsuk in straight games of 11-9, 11-7, 12-10 while Poulomi kept the momentum by overcoming Nanthana Komwong with a 11-4, 14-12, 11-6 to give India a commanding lead.<br /><br />This lead proved decisive for Ankita Das who, despite losing a game to Suttlux Rattanaprayoon, won 14-12, 11-5, 10-12, 11-5, leaving Thailand to compete for the ninth place.<br /><br />National coach Bhavani Mukherjee praised national champion Poulomi for the gutsy play she put up against her Thai opponent.<br /><br />"Poulomi was too good today with her attacking game that left her opponent clueless. This momentum also helped Ankita in the third rubber," he said. The men paddlers also overcame a tough Iran 3-2 to move into the quarterfinals where they will meet Chinese Taipei. Earlier, they had beaten Bahrain and UAE with an identical 3-0 margin<br /><br />Noshad Alamiyan, backbone of Iran, first accounted for Soumyajit Ghosh 11-7, 11-5, 11-9 but Achanta Sharath Kamal restored parity with an 11-5, 16-14, 11-3 win over Akhlaghpasand Mohammad Reza.<br /><br />National champion A Amalraj then downed Alamian Darounkolaei Nima 11-8, 7-11, 11-8, 11-6 to put India in the lead.<br /><br />Sharath Kamal, however, lost his reverse singles to Alamiyan Daronkolaei Noshad 11-7, 9-11, 10-12, 6-11. But Ghosh played an altogether different game in the decider to beat Akhlaghpasand Mohammed Reza 11-8, 11-9, 11-4 and seal India a quarterfinal place.<br /><br />The format of the championships is that teams finishing first in each group progress to the knockout stage with two finalists from there entering the champion division.</p>