PETALING JAYA: It was a memorable outing for Malaysia’s table tennis team as both the men’s and women’s squads clinched silver medals at the Commonwealth Championships in New Delhi after finishing runners-up to hosts India.
Eighth seeded Malaysia punched above their weight to reach the final of the men’s team competition for the first time with a stunning 3-1 win over Singapore.
Malaysia pushed top seeds India all the way in a gripping final before narrowly going down 2-3.
Manav Thakkar gave India the lead with a 3-1 victory over Javen Choong before Manush Shah edged Wong Qi Shen in a five-game thriller to make it 2-0.
Malaysia fought back through Tey Hong Yu, who beat Sathiyan Gnanasekaran in straight games.
Qi Shen then defeated Thakkar in another five-game contest to level the tie at 2-2.
With the title on the line, Manush produced a dominant display to beat Javen 3-0 and seal the title for India.
It’s a feat to be proud of for Malaysia men’s team as they only reached the quarter-finals when table tennis was included at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
The women’s team also lived up to expectations by advancing to the final before falling 3-0 to India.
Swastika Ghosh put the hosts ahead with a 3-1 victory over Tee Ai Xin before Sreeja Akula beat Karen Lyne in a five-game encounter to double India’s lead. Yashaswini Ghorpade then sealed the title with a 3-1 win over Alice Chang.
Malaysia had earlier booked their place in the final with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Australia.
At the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, the Malaysian women also won silver after losing 3-0 to Singapore in the final.
National coach Beh Lee Wei was satisfied with the performance of the paddlers.
“Table tennis was not included in this year’s Commonwealth Games, so India stepped forward to host the Commonwealth Championships instead, with 25 countries taking part.
“Since all the participating nations sent their strongest teams, reaching both finals for the first time is a very good achievement for Malaysia.”
