Ayhika, Sreeja stun World No 1 and 2 to give China a scare
BUSAN: Ayhika Mukherjee and Sreeja Akula stunned the world’s top two players, Sun Yingsha and Wang Yidi, in their respective singles matches to rattle the mighty China before the Indian women’s table tennis team narrowly fell short in the World Team Championships here on Friday.
Ranked a lowly 155, Mukherjee played the match of her life to pull off a stunning 12-10, 2-11 13-11, 11-6 win over world No.1 Sun in the opening singles of the group stage contest.
It was the first ever loss for Sun at the team event of World Championships, summing up the enormity of Ayhika’s achievement.
The unexpected win provided a massive boost to Sreeja, who made the day even more memorable for Indian table tennis by blanking world No. 2 Wang Yidi in straight games 11-7, 11-9 13-11 in the third singles.However, star player Manika Batra losing both her singles and Ayhika going down in the fifth and deciding singles meant India lost the rubber 2-3. Nonetheless, it was a red letter day for the game in India with Ayhika and Sreeja doing the unthinkable.
“I really feel great to beat Sun Yingsha. Today was my day, she was doing great and I did very well. I was confident and I just told myself that I should enjoy the match,” said Ayhika, who used her anti spin rubber brilliantly to down the multiple time Olympic and World Championship medallist.The 26-yearold from Naihati in West Bengal trailed multiple times in the match but found a way to comeback.
Another highlight of the group stage was Sreeja’s peerless performance against world No. 2 Wang Yidi. The 49th ranked Indian, who uses long pimples like Manika, blanked Wang for the biggest win of her career. “It was surely the biggest win of my career. I have always wanted to face Wang and finally got to play her today. Ayhika’s win gave me a lot of confidence and I was able to put initial pressure on Wang. My backhand worked well and what helped me equally was the consistency of my forehand,” she said.