<p>Astana: Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee achieved another first for Indian table tennis by assuring themselves of a medal at the Asian Championships here on Saturday.</p>.<p>The Mukherjees, who had beaten the world champions from China on way to a historic bronze at Asian Games last year, bounced back to beat South Korean of Kim Nayeong and Lee Eunhye 10-12, 11-7, 11-9, 11-8 in the quarterfinals here.</p>.<p>The world number 15 pair from India faces Japan's Miwa Harimoto and Miyuu Kishara in the semifinals on Sunday. The final is also scheduled for Sunday.</p>.Ayhika assures first ever medal for Indian women at Asian TT Championships.<p>Ayhika plays with an anti-spin rubber that helps her slow down the game for Sutirtha, who uses a short pimpled rubber, to attack on the following return.</p>.<p>Manav, Manush stun higher-ranked South Koreans =============================== In the men's singles, Manav Thakkar and Manush Shah exceeded expectations to reach the pre-quarterfinals.</p>.<p>Manav, ranked 60th, recorded one of the biggest wins of his career by upsetting world number 14 Jang Woojin from South Korea 5-11, 11-9, 5-11, 11-9, 11-7 in the round of 32.</p>.<p>World number 115 Manush made short work of 23-ranked An Jaehyun from South Korea 11-9, 11-5, 11-6 in a head turning performance. Both Manav and Manush play their pre-quarterfinal later on Saturday.</p>.<p>Harmeet Desai's singles campaign ended in the round of 32 with a straight game loss to 30th ranked Lim Jonghoon in the round of 32.</p>.<p>Veteran Sharath Kamal, India's highest ranked player at 42, had suffered a shock defeat against 506th ranked Mohammed Alqassab on Friday evening. G Sathiyan went down against North Korean Ham Yu Song, who doesn't feature in the ITTF rankings.</p>.<p>Manika Batra is scheduled to face Japan's Miwa Harimoto in a round of 16 clash on Saturday.</p>
<p>Astana: Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee achieved another first for Indian table tennis by assuring themselves of a medal at the Asian Championships here on Saturday.</p>.<p>The Mukherjees, who had beaten the world champions from China on way to a historic bronze at Asian Games last year, bounced back to beat South Korean of Kim Nayeong and Lee Eunhye 10-12, 11-7, 11-9, 11-8 in the quarterfinals here.</p>.<p>The world number 15 pair from India faces Japan's Miwa Harimoto and Miyuu Kishara in the semifinals on Sunday. The final is also scheduled for Sunday.</p>.Ayhika assures first ever medal for Indian women at Asian TT Championships.<p>Ayhika plays with an anti-spin rubber that helps her slow down the game for Sutirtha, who uses a short pimpled rubber, to attack on the following return.</p>.<p>Manav, Manush stun higher-ranked South Koreans =============================== In the men's singles, Manav Thakkar and Manush Shah exceeded expectations to reach the pre-quarterfinals.</p>.<p>Manav, ranked 60th, recorded one of the biggest wins of his career by upsetting world number 14 Jang Woojin from South Korea 5-11, 11-9, 5-11, 11-9, 11-7 in the round of 32.</p>.<p>World number 115 Manush made short work of 23-ranked An Jaehyun from South Korea 11-9, 11-5, 11-6 in a head turning performance. Both Manav and Manush play their pre-quarterfinal later on Saturday.</p>.<p>Harmeet Desai's singles campaign ended in the round of 32 with a straight game loss to 30th ranked Lim Jonghoon in the round of 32.</p>.<p>Veteran Sharath Kamal, India's highest ranked player at 42, had suffered a shock defeat against 506th ranked Mohammed Alqassab on Friday evening. G Sathiyan went down against North Korean Ham Yu Song, who doesn't feature in the ITTF rankings.</p>.<p>Manika Batra is scheduled to face Japan's Miwa Harimoto in a round of 16 clash on Saturday.</p>