World Table Tennis Championships in Houston
USA player Kanak Jha reached the Men’s singles quarterfinal, a first for the US since 1959
Houston: Table Tennis enthusiasts in Houston had the opportunity to view and cheer for the sport’s leading table tennis players at the World Table Tennis Championships in Houston’s George Brown Convention Center from
November 23 to 29. This was the first time the world championships were held outside of Europe or Asia.
In the finals on Monday, the Number 1 seed Fan Zhendong easily won the final Men’s Singles match easily 4-0 against Sweden’s Truls Moregard. In the Women’s Singles final, China’s Wang Manyu beat her compatriot Sun
Yingsha 4-2.
Houston table tennis enthusiasts greeted the Indian TT team when they arrived at the Houston airport to wish them luck. Several Indian teams reached the quarterfinals.
The tournament was hosted by the Houston Sports Association. On the local organizing committee, active members from the Indo-American community included Jayant and Kanchan Kabad, Jyoti Kulkarni, and Neeraj Oak. Scores of other volunteers helped at the tournament site and also in greeting and assisting the visiting Indian team.
In the Men’s Singles Quarterfinals, USA’s Kanak Jha lost 4-2 to Timo Boll of Germany. In Women’s Doubles Quarterfinals, Manika Batra and Archana Kamat lost to the French team of Sarah de Nutte and Lian Xia Ni.
In the Mixed Doubles Quarterfinals, the Indian team of Sathian Gnanasekaran and Manika Batra lost to Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto and Hina Hayata.
To make the Indian team comfortable in unfamiliar surroundings, Sridhar Kota brought food from Indian local restaurants. The Indian contingent was able to visit NASA on Saturday with the help of local volunteers, including Mukund Belawadi.
The 2022 ITTF TT tournament will take place in Busan, South Korea.