India’s table tennis campaign at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 produced contrasting results on Day 1, with the women’s team completing a memorable comeback against Singapore while the men suffered a 0-3 defeat to Iran.
Both teams had earlier opened their campaigns with convincing victories over Indonesia at Sky Hall Toyota.
The women began the day with a 3-0 victory over Indonesia. Sreeja Akula gave India the lead by defeating Ni Maharani 11-3, 8-11, 11-4, 11-4. Diya Chitale followed with an 11-9, 11-8, 11-5 win over Almaira Nebuchadnezzar, before Yashaswini Ghorpade completed the sweep against Citra Rasmi, winning 12-10, 11-4, 11-4.
India then produced the comeback of the day against Singapore, winning 3-2 after trailing 1-2. Yashaswini first defeated Jian Zeng 11-7, 11-3, 8-11, 11-9. Sreeja then lost to Loy Ming in five games, while Diya went down 7-11, 4-11, 11-7, 5-11 against Tan Zhao. Sreeja responded brilliantly, beating Zeng 6-11, 11-3, 11-7, 11-4 to level the tie. Yashaswini then held her nerve in the decider, defeating Loy Ming 5-11, 11-8, 12-10, 4-11, 11-9.
The men also started with a 3-0 win over Indonesia. Sathiyan Gnanasekaran beat Muhammad Negara 11-8, 11-7, 11-9, Manav Thakkar edged Muhammad Junindra 11-7, 8-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-9, and Manush Shah defeated Affan Pratama 11-9, 11-9, 12-10.
However, the men struggled against Iran later in the day, losing 0-3. Manush Shah lost to Noshad Alamiyan, Manav Thakkar was beaten by Benyamin Faraji, while Harmeet Desai pushed Alamiyan hard before losing 10-12, 15-13, 3-11, 12-10, 2-11.
Yashaswini Ghorpade the standout
Yashaswini Ghorpade emerged as India’s standout performer on Day 1, winning all three of her matches across the two ties, including the decisive fifth rubber against Singapore. Her composure under pressure proved crucial in India’s comeback victory.
India’s teams will next face Pakistan in their respective Group F matches.