The Indian trio of Sutirtha Mukherjee, Syndrela Das and Sreeja Akula maintained a cordial relationship and shook hands with their Pakistani counterparts during their Group F encounter of the women’s table tennis team event on Monday at the Sky Hall Toyota in Japan.
The India vs Pakistan games have recently garnered attention because of the cricket team’s no-handshake policy, as a protest against the April 2025 Pahalgam attack and standing in solidarity with Operation Sindoor. But unlike in cricket, the Indian athletes in rest of the disciplines shook hands.
Likewise the Indian trio of Sutirtha, Syndrela and Sreeja shook hands with their Pakistani opponents following a 3-0 thrashing that sent them to the last 16 of the women’s table tennis team event. However, India’s round of 16 opponent is yet to be decided.
Pakistan are no match for India
The Pakistani paddlers were no match to their Indian opponents. A bronze medal winner in the women’s doubles event in Hangzhou in 2023, Sutirtha got of to a flyer, decimating Aleena Khan 11-3, 11-3, 11-4 in just 10 minutes.
Teen Syndrela then made it 2-0 for India with an 11-6, 11-7, 11-5 victory over Kalsoom Khan before Sreeja put the icing on the cake with a 11-4, 11-4, 11-5 victory in just 11 minutes over Fatima Khan.
Following the win, the cameras were focussed on athletes from both countries as the Indian and Pakistani paddlers shook hands. While the live visuals captured Syndrela and Sreeja making handshakes with their opponents, there was no footage on Sutirtha doing the same.
Indian men take on Pakistan
The Indian men’s table tennis team will also take on pakistan in their final group encounter on Monday. Having started their campaign with a 3-0 sweep against Indonesia, the Indian men were handed a shock defeat by Iran on Sunday in a Group F encounter.
Noshad Alamiyan defeated Manush Shah 11-3, 11-8, 12-10 to start Iran’s run before Benyamin Faraji defeated Manav Thakkar 11-2, 11-6, 11-6 to put themselves firmly in control. Harmeet Desai tried his best to give some resistance, but it was Nima Alamian, who edged the Indian in a five-game contest to seal the tie. India need to beat Pakistan to stay in contention.