Manav settles for three silver medals
Gandhidham: Coming up with some superlative show, India’s prolific paddler Manush Shah and his mixed doubles partner Diya Chitale triumphed over their compatriots Manav Thakkar and Archana Kamath to pocket the gold medal in the mixed doubles event of the WTT Feeder Beirut 2024 table tennis tournament being played at the Al Kawthar Secondary School in Beirut, Lebanon.
The number 6 seeds Manush and Diya were in total control of the match from the start and beat the number 5 seeded Indian duo 3-1.
Vadodara-boy Manush, however, had to face disappointment in the men’s doubles event as he and his partner Manav had to face defeat in the summit clash. The top seeded Indian duo lost 1-3 to the second seeded Cuban pairing of Andy Pereira and Jorge Campos.
With this, the southpaw Manush ended his Beirut campaign with a gold and a silver.
World. No 83 Manav had to go through the biggest heartbreak of the tournament as despite playing some very inspiring table tennis, the 23-year-old had to settle for three silver medals. Apart from ending up on the losing side in the mixed doubles and men’s doubles finals, the Surat boy went down to his fellow Indian G Sathiyan in the men’s singles finals. After winning the opening game, Manav failed to contain a resurgent Sathiyan and lost the gold-medal encounter 1-3.
Gujarat State Table Tennis Association (GSTTA) president Shri Pramod Chaudhary expressed delight over two Gujarat boys putting up such a tremendous show at an international-level tournament. “We at GSTTA are super proud of Manush and Manav’s feat. Our boys entered the finals of multiple events which is a great testimony of their perseverance,” he said.
