Vinesh Phogat, a 2019 world championships bronze medalist, was handed a shocking 7-0 defeat by 2022 Asian championships silver medalist Khulan Batkhuyag of Mongolia in the qualification round.
The Indian team for the prestigious tournament, to be held after a gap of two years following the Covid pandemic, was selected after a thorough selection process that included two All India Ranking tournaments and a selection trial in Raipur.
Since the World Table Tennis Championship begins in Chengdu, China, on September 30, the National Games Organising Committee decided to hold the Table Tennis competition from September 20 to 24 in Surat
The Indian contingent came home with a best-ever showing from the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, bagging three gold, one silver and two bronze medals while the Indian men's shuttlers have three medals to show from the two editions of the world championships.
Despite this, the Indian duo will return back to the country with a medal, becoming the first Indian men's pair to do so at the Championships. They had to settle for a bronze after their loss in semifinal
Fighting for a podium finish, the Indian pair was looking to create an upset in the quarterfinals. They were faced with the uphill task of winning against the world number three duo of Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan.