World Tour Platinum Australian Open: Indian Duo win bronze

The Indian pair of G. Sathiyan and Anthony Amalraj won bronze in Men’s Doubles at World Tour Platinum Australian Open Table Tennis 2019 held in Geelong near Melbourne in Australia.

Key Highlights

The duo went down with 12-14, 9-11, 8-11 to top seed Korean pair of Jeoung Youngsik and Lee Sangsu. The Korean pair could not be pinned down despite being extended in 1st game. The Indian duo (G. Sathiyan and Anthony Amalraj) fought really well before bowing out in semifinal.

This was India’s first ever medal in Australian Open, which is a Platinum event.

This lone bronze medal was only silver lining as other Indians failed to cross preliminary-round hurdles in all events. This included Sharath Kamal and Sathiyan as the only two Indians who could make it to 3rd round of qualifying matches in men’s singles before bowing out.

About 2019 ITTF World Tour

It is 24th edition of International Table Tennis Federation’s professional table tennis world tour. It is scheduled from 17 January 2019 to 15 December 2019.

Total no. of Tournaments: 12 + Grand Finals

The tournaments in 2019 tour is divided in to two Categories-

1. World Tour (6)
2. World Tour Platinum (6)- It offer higher prize money and more points towards the ITTF World Tour standings. The points earned determine qualifiers for ITTF World Tour Grand Finals in December 2019.

Month: Current Affairs - July, 2019