Earlier in the day, the Indian women's table tennis team of Diya Parag Chitale, Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee scripted a facile 3-0 victory over Nepal.
The India's men and women table tennis teams had easy starts to their respective campaigns with identical 3-0 victories over Barbados and South Africa in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Friday.
The Indian women's team finished sixth in the Asian Table Tennis Championships after being blanked 0-3 by Thailand in Pyeongchang on Tuesday.
Tennis ace Rohan Bopanna, hockey great P R Sreejesh and table tennis legend Sharath Kamal, are gearing up for one last hurrah at the Asian Games, starting in Hangzhou, from September 23.
Manika Batra's dream run in the Asian Cup Table Tennis tournament ended
Sharath Kamal and Gnanasekaran Sathiyan was outsmarted by familiar foes Paul Drinkhall and Liam Pitchford of England in the men's doubles final at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Sunday.
Star Indian paddler Manika Batra crashed out of the women's singles in the World Table Tennis Championships Finals after a first round defeat, while Sathiyan Gnanasekaran advanced to the second round in the men's singles, in Houston, on Wednesday.
The men's team had outclassed Barbados, Singapore and Northern Ireland by identical 3-0 margin in the group stage to make the quarter-finals.
Manika Batra and Archana Kamath defeated Hungary's Dora Madarasz and Georgina Pota 11-4, 11-9, 6-11, 11-7 in the women's doubles round of 16.
They have also taken help from Soumyadeep Roy and Kamlesh Mehta to shortlist the needy ones from across the country.
Manika Batra wants to break the top-30 barrier in the near future
The Indian contingent showcased traditional flavour in their dapper blue kurta-pyjamas.
'We both are really working hard, and, of course there are many things on which we are focussing right now, on and off the table.'
The domination of home paddlers could be gauged from the fact that all finals on Monday featured only the Indians.
Batra will now take on Singapore's Jian Zeng in the last eight-clash later tonight.
Former India table tennis player Venugopal Chandrasekhar died at a private hospital in Chennai on Wednesday due to COVID-19 related complications.
India held on to sixth place in the medals tally
Manika Batra was knocked out of the World Singles Olympic Qualification Tournament after she suffered a 1-4 defeat to Monaco's Xiaoxin Yang in the women's singles stage-I semi-final match in Doha on Monday.
India's Manika Batra failed to win a medal at the World Table Tennis Championships after crashing out in the quarter-finals of the mixed and women's doubles, in Houston, on Saturday.
The frustration for aspirant Olympians has been palpable and athletes like table tennis player Sathiyan Gnanasekaran have been forced to innovate to stay sharp during the lengthy lockdowns.
Men could extend their reign for the second successive time after annexing the title in the previous edition at Surat in 2015. The Indian men had won their first crown in Kuala Lumpur in 2004.
The Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) on Tuesday termed Manika Batra's decision to not take the help of national coach Soumyadeep Roy during her matches at the Tokyo Olympics as a brazen 'act of indiscipline'.
Manika Batra's sensational run at the Commonwealth Games fetched her another medal on Sunday. Teaming up with Sathiyan Gnanasekaran she bagged the mixed doubles bronze, thereby winning a medal in every event she competed in at the Gold Coast Games .
A summary of Indian athletes' performances on Sunday, August 7, Day 10 of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
The men's team got the better of Northern Ireland and Trinidad and Tobago thrashing them both 3-0 while the women's team defeated Sri Lanka and Wales 3-0, 3-1 respectively.
The Indian contingent was largely satisfied with the food and facilities provided at the Olympic Games Village, but a request has gone out to the Indian Embassy for 100 plus electric kettles to meet the athletes' requirement of warm water.
Manika Batra and Mouma Das fought hard before going down against defending champions Feng Tianwei and Yu Mengyu to settle for a silver medal in the women's doubles, a first ever for India in the Commonwealth Games.
A summary of Indian athletes' performance on Day 7 of the Games.
Bhavani, who reached Tokyo on Tuesday, wasted no time to start her training.
Here's a look at Indian athletes' performance on Monday, Day 4 of the Games.
A summary of Indian athletes' showing on the concluding day of the Commonwealth Games.
The Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) will make a fresh attempt to organise a training camp at the end of June but top players including Sharath Kamal and G Sathiyan are not ready to travel anytime soon as the situation remains "unsafe".
Manika Batra's sensational run at the Commonwealth Games culminated with a fourth medal in as many events while India emerged as the best table tennis nation with a record eight medals including three gold medals.
The coronavirus pandemic has taken a toll on sports calendars across the globe, resulting in cancellation and postponement of events, but it has also provided sportspersons a rather unexpected break. Indian sportspersons including some chess players plan to use the time to train and also be with their families.
The designated women's coach of the Indian team, Anindita Chakraborty, was conspicuous by her absence in the knockout fixture. Instead, men's coach S Raman sat on the courtside as India women's were shocked by Malaysia in the quarter-finals.
Sharath along with G Sathiyan has been handed a tough draw in the men's singles competition.
D Vishwa was part of the Tamizhaga Table Tennis Association (TTTA) State men's team who were on their way to take part in the 83rd Senior National and Inter-State table tennis championships to be held in Meghalaya, Shillong.
World C'ships: Sajan Prakash finishes 25th, fails to progress to final
Ageing like fine wine, Sharath Kamal has set his sights on yet another shot at the Olympics, his confidence boosted by a grand showing at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
