Syndrela Das, Sutirtha Mukherjee and Ankur Bhattacharjee emerged as giant-killers on Saturday, spearheading a dominant Indian showing as the host nation secured a clean sweep of the singles podium at the 22nd Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships at the Thyagaraj Sports Complex.

The Bengal trio upset higher-ranked Australian opponents in the quarterfinals, ensuring all eight semifinal berths across the men’s and women’s singles belonged to India. With the doubles events also entering the decisive phase, the host remained on course for a clean sweep of titles.

The biggest upset of the tournament came courtesy of 16-year-old Syndrela, who stunned top seed and World No. 31 Yangzi Liu in six games. Having lost to the Australian in Ultimate Table Tennis barely a fortnight ago, Syndrela turned the tables with a fearless display, repeatedly catching Yangzi off guard with her ferocious winners.

The teenager looked set for a comfortable finish after racing to an 8-2 lead in the sixth game. Yangzi, however, mounted a spirited comeback, claiming six of the next seven points to reduce the deficit to 9-8. Syndrela’s tactical timeout proved decisive. Regaining her composure, she produced a trademark backhand winner before Yangzi miscued a backhand topspin, sealing the biggest victory of the youngster’s career.

Minutes earlier, Sutirtha had accounted for second seed Min Hyung Jee in five games, relying on her powerful forehand winners to book her place in the semifinals.

The men’s quarterfinal between Ankur and third seed Nicholas Lum provided the afternoon’s most absorbing contest. It turned into a fascinating tactical duel between Lum’s explosive forehand topspins and Ankur’s backhand-oriented game, with the animated Indian feeding off the home crowd’s energy to script a memorable victory.

Hometown hero Payas Jain, too, bested fourth seed Harmeet Desai in an absorbing all-Indian contest to set up a last-four clash against top seed Manush Shah.

The results: Quarterfinals: Singles: Men: Manush Shah bt Aditya Sareen (Aus) 11-6, 11-8, 2-11, 13-15, 11-8, 11-5; Payas Jain bt Harmeet Desai 8-11, 12-10, 12-14, 12-10, 11-6, 11-9; Ankur Bhattacharjee bt Nicholas Lum (Aus) 7-11, 15-13, 10-12, 11-5, 11-9, 11-9; Manav Thakkar bt Connor Green (Eng) 5-11, 11-8, 13-11, 11-8, 11-6.

Women: Syndrela Das bt Yanzgi Liu (Aus) 10-12, 11-9, 12-10, 11-8, 7-11, 11-8; Sreeja Akula bt Tin-Tin Ho (Eng) 13-11, 1-4, 11-9, 12-10; Yashaswini Ghorpade bt Constantina Psihogios (Aus) 11-5, 11-5, 11-8, 11-5; Sutirtha Mukherjee bt Min Hyung Jee (Aus) 11-6, 11-3, 10-12, 11-6, 11-7.

Doubles: Men: Manav Thakkar & Manush Shah bt Connor Hunter & Joseph Green (Eng) 11-7, 11-4, 12-10; G. Sathiyan & Harmeet Desai bt Josh Chua & Nicholas Tan (Sgp) 9-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-8; Wong Qi Shen & Javen Choong (Mas) 12-10, 11-7, 4-11, 13-11; Nicholas Lum & Aditya Sareen bt Akash Pal & S.F.R. Snehit 4-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-8.

Women: Constantina Psihogios & Yangzi Liu (Aus) bt Sutirtha Mukherjee & Swastika Ghosh 11-9, 11-7, 4-11, 11-1; Yashaswini Ghorpade & Divyanshi Bhowmick bt Tin-Tin Ho & Cheuk Wong (Eng) 11-9, 11-8, 11-5; Taneesha Kotecha & Sayali Wani bt Min Hyung Jee & Jiamuwa Wu 11-9, 11-8, 10-12, 11-4; Sreeja Akula & Syndrela Das bt Ai Xin Tee & Karen Lyne (Mas) 6-11, 11-7, 7-11, 11-8, 14-12.

Semifinals: Mixed doubles: Richard Yap & Ai Xan Tee (Mas) bt Ronit Bhanja & Anusha Kutumbale 11-8, 11-7, 4-11; 4-11, 11-9; G. Sathiyan & Sreeja Akula bt Aditya Sareen & Constantina Psihogios (Aus) 11-5, 11-5, 8-11, 11-8.

Published – August 01, 2026 08:40 pm IST

Sreeja again came up an inspired display to sustain India’s fortunes.
| Photo Credit: SHASHI SHEKHAR KASHYAP