<p>The Indian men's table tennis team assured itself of at least a bronze medal in the Asian Championships with a 3-0 win over Singapore in the quarterfinals here on Monday.</p>.<p>The opening singles between veteran Sharath Kamal and Izaac Quek went down to the wire with the 41-year-old Indian prevailing 11-1, 10-12, 11-8, 11-13, 14-12.</p>.<p> The seasoned G Sathiyan then blanked Yew En Koen Pang 11-6, 11-8, 12-10 to give India a 2-0 lead in the last eight clash.</p>.<p> India's highest-ranked player at 61, Harmeet Desai, sealed the tie by outplaying Zhe Yu Clarence Chew 11-9, 11-4, 11-6.</p>.<p> Third seeds India play either Iran or Chinese Taipei in the semifinals. The men's team finished with a bronze in the previous edition in Doha two years ago.</p>.<p> After a long time, Sharath and Sathiyan find themselves out of the top-100 in the singles rankings and would be looking to make amends in the individual events here.</p>.<p> The revised points system and not playing enough tournaments have contributed to their steep drop in the rankings.</p>.<p> In the women's quarterfinals, fifth seeds India suffered a 0-3 loss against Japan on Monday.</p>.<p> World number eight Mima Ito got past Ayhika Mukherjee in the opening singles without much difficulty, winning 11-7, 15-13, 11-8.</p>.<p> Indian star and world number 36 Manika Batra took a game off seventh ranked Hina Hayata before going down 7-11, 9-11, 11-9, 3-11.</p>.<p> Suthirtha Mukherjee also did well to win the opening game against 14th ranked Miu Hirano before the Japanese found her rhythm for a 7-11, 11-4, 11-6, 11-5 victory.</p>.<p> Following the loss, India will play classification matches for 5-8 positions on Tuesday.</p>.<p> The continental event is being played ahead of the Hangzhou Asian Games beginning September 23. </p>
<p>The Indian men's table tennis team assured itself of at least a bronze medal in the Asian Championships with a 3-0 win over Singapore in the quarterfinals here on Monday.</p>.<p>The opening singles between veteran Sharath Kamal and Izaac Quek went down to the wire with the 41-year-old Indian prevailing 11-1, 10-12, 11-8, 11-13, 14-12.</p>.<p> The seasoned G Sathiyan then blanked Yew En Koen Pang 11-6, 11-8, 12-10 to give India a 2-0 lead in the last eight clash.</p>.<p> India's highest-ranked player at 61, Harmeet Desai, sealed the tie by outplaying Zhe Yu Clarence Chew 11-9, 11-4, 11-6.</p>.<p> Third seeds India play either Iran or Chinese Taipei in the semifinals. The men's team finished with a bronze in the previous edition in Doha two years ago.</p>.<p> After a long time, Sharath and Sathiyan find themselves out of the top-100 in the singles rankings and would be looking to make amends in the individual events here.</p>.<p> The revised points system and not playing enough tournaments have contributed to their steep drop in the rankings.</p>.<p> In the women's quarterfinals, fifth seeds India suffered a 0-3 loss against Japan on Monday.</p>.<p> World number eight Mima Ito got past Ayhika Mukherjee in the opening singles without much difficulty, winning 11-7, 15-13, 11-8.</p>.<p> Indian star and world number 36 Manika Batra took a game off seventh ranked Hina Hayata before going down 7-11, 9-11, 11-9, 3-11.</p>.<p> Suthirtha Mukherjee also did well to win the opening game against 14th ranked Miu Hirano before the Japanese found her rhythm for a 7-11, 11-4, 11-6, 11-5 victory.</p>.<p> Following the loss, India will play classification matches for 5-8 positions on Tuesday.</p>.<p> The continental event is being played ahead of the Hangzhou Asian Games beginning September 23. </p>