Asian Games 2023: Bringing bronze to the table!

Sutirtha Mukherjee (left) and Ayhika Mukherjee. Pic/PTI

India paddler Sutirtha Mukherjee made her presence felt on Monday as she clearly had the best backhand on view during the women's doubles semi-final alongside partner Ayhika Mukherjee against North Korea's Suyong Cha and Sugyong Pak at the Gongshu Canal Sports Park Gymnasium. India paddler Sutirtha Mukherjee showed remarkable agility and skill.

The Indians eventually lost 3-4 (11-7, 8-11, 11-7, 8-11, 9-11, 11-5, 2-11) to settle for a historic bronze medal, but not before giving the North Koreans a scare throughout the 69-minute encounter. And it was Sutirtha, 27, who played the occasional aggressor, while Ayhika, 26, used her special anti-type backhand rubber surface to great effect, negating the pace and turn of whatever was sent across the net by the opposition. The two teams went neck-to-neck till Game 7, before suddenly the cookie crumbled. India coach Mamata Prabhu explained what went wrong.

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Sutirtha Mukherjee (left) and Ayhika Mukherjee during the women's doubles table tennis semi-final at Hangzhou, China, yesterday. Pic/PTI

Out of rhythm

"We didn't start Game 7 well. The Koreans played two fantastic points and we were totally out of rhythm after that. We played a superb sixth game and wanted to use the same strategy in the seventh which was to be a bit more aggressive, but after we lost the first two points, we came under pressure. We needed to be more aggressive," said Prabhu, a multiple time national champion and Commonwealth Games silver medallist.

When asked about Sutirtha not being conventionally lean, Prabhu insisted that the Bengal paddler more than made up for that with her speed and skill. "For sure I agree that athletes have to be lean, but let's also consider the fact that some people have a different body type. Table tennis is a highly skilled game. Fitness is also required, no doubt, but skill is crucial and Sutirtha has fantastic skill. The best part is that she is extremely fast on the table. Her hand-eye coordination is very strong too. That's what table tennis requires," she explained.

India women's table tennis coach Mamata Prabhu at the Gongshu Canal Sports Park Gymnasium, Hangzhou, yesterday. Pic/Ashwin Ferro

Speaking about the future of this duo, Prabhu said that it's certainly bright. "They come from the same place, Naihati, and started with the same club so their friendship goes back 20 years. They know each other inside out. This year they won the WTT Contender title [in Tunisia].

A unique pair

"They are unique because they use four different rubbers. Sutirtha has a pimpled forehand and plain backhand, while Ayhika has a pimpled forehand and an anti-type backhand. So, it's a difficult combination for opponents to deal with. Going forward, we will continue to play their blocking game but we will build more patterns and more variations and also get a bit more fitter and faster," Prabhu signed off.