TT: Indian men, women reach semis

SHILLONG: National champion Anthony Amalraj, G Sathiyan, Manika Batra and Mouma Das eased into the semifinals of the individual table tennis events at the 12th South Asian Games beating their respective opponents 4-0 in the quarterfinal round at the JN Indoor Sports Hall here on Monday. In the best of seven game matches, Sathiyan trounced Ali Sajad Faisal of Pakistan in the men’s quarters, while Amalraj went past Deep Saun of Nepal. The women’s quarterfinals were equally one-sided, with Batra dismissing Nabita Shreshta of Nepal and Das brushing aside Mueena Mohamed. Das’ opponent on Tuesday in the last-four will be Ruvini Kannangura of Sri Lanka. India bag another Gold in wushu By Our Reporter SHILLONG: India’s M Punshiva Meitei bagged gold in the Nanquan and Nangun men’s event of Wushu while Swachacha Jatav bagged silver in the women’s event in the 12th South Asian Games at the Rising Sports Complex, Assam Rifles in Latikor here on Monday. Metei finished on top with 18.60 points to win the gold ahead of his rivals from Nepal and Sri Lanka. Nima Gharti Magar of Nepal finished on top in the women’s event with 16.91 points followed by Jatav with 16.33 points. The only women’s quarterfinal that saw competitive play was between Pakistan’s Rahila Kashif and Ishara Madhurangi (Sri Lanka). The latter, ultimately prevailed four games to two. Doubles’ pairs make semis Meanwhile, all six Indian pairings made it to the semifinal stage of the mixed doubles, men’s doubles and women’s doubles in the South Asian Games table tennis events here on Monday. While G Sathiyan and Mouma Das beat Moosa Munsif and Fathimal Jumana Nimaal of Maldives 3-0, Anthony Amalraj and Manika Batra defeated Ali Sajad Faisal and Rahila Kashif of Pakistan by a similar margin in the mixed doubles. The Indians will take on two Sri Lankan pairs in Tuesday’s mixed doubles semis. In the women’s doubles, Mouma Das and K Shamini beat Moumita Alam and Rahima Akhter of Bangladesh 3-1. They will face Nabita Shreshta and Elina Marharjan of Nepal in the semis. On the other side of the draw, Manika Batra and Pooja Sahasrabudhe beat Mueena Mohamed and Fathimal Jumana Nimaal 3-0. They will face Ishara Madhurangi and Erandi Warusawithana of Sri Lanka in the semis. The day ended with the men’s doubles quarters. Anthony Amalraj and Sanil Shetty beat Mahbub Billah and Mohammed Zaved of Bangladesh 3- 0. The winners will face Rohan Sirisena and Chameern Ginge (Sri Lanka) in the semis. The Indian pair of Devesh Karia and G Sathiyan, meanwhile, beat Abdul Raheem and Muhammad Rameez of Pakistan 3-0. The victors will play Sri Lanka’s Udaya Ranasinghe and Nirmala Jayasinghe