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Two golds for India in World TT Team Championship

Indian men’s and women’s team scripted history by clinching the gold medals at the World Table Tennis Team Championship with superb victories over Luxemburg and Brazil respectively here on Saturday.

The Indian women’s team beat Luxemburg 3-1 in the event final of the Second Division, while their male counterparts overcame a stiff Brazil 3-2 here.

In the women’s team final, Mouma Das gave a winning start to her team when she defeated Danielle Konsbruck 3-0 in a quick bust. Manika Batra then put behind Friday’s loss and began with a bang, leading 2-0 against Tessy Gonderinger, who managed to grab the third game. However, Manika clinched the fourth game to win 3-1 and provide India with a 2-0 lead. Despite the cushion, K Shamini was unable to take advantage and lost her singles to Sarah De Nutte in straight games but Manika beat Danielle 3-0 in the reverse singles to wrap a memorable win for India.

In men’s team final, Harmeet Desai hogged the limelight as India eked out a narrow win. With two hard-fought wins on Friday, the team management decided to rest Achanta Sharath Kamal in the final against Brazil. But it seemed to be a wrong decision with India trailing 1-2 despite Harmeet pulling one back after Soumyajit Ghosh lost the opening rubber. Anthony Amalraj, who led 2-1 in the third rubber, went down to Thiago Monterio, putting India in a precarious position. However, Ghosh made amends with a fantastic 3-0 win over Cazuo Matsumoto to keep the team hopes alive.

Harmeet then played the decider. He lost the first game, but held his nerves draw level. The turnaround in the rubber came when, trailing 6-9, Harmeet kept his cool and closed it down to 9-10. After saving two game points and two deuces Harmeet won 15-13, much to the relief of the Indian camp. 
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