G Sathiyan finished his impressive ITTF-ATTU Asian Cup campaign with a tough defeat against teenager Lin Yun-Ju of Chinese Taipei in the fifth position playoff. The latter won 4-0 (11-4, 11-8, 11-8, 14-12) in Yokohama on Sunday.
Fresh from his recent men’s singles title win at the Challenge Plus Oman Open, 17-year-old Yun-Ju proved far superior to 26-year-old Sathiyan.
India’s G Sathiyan takes a game off reigning Olympic and World Champion Ma Long before beating the world number 14 to virtually seal a World Cup spot at #AsianCup2019 table tennis in Yokohama. Top effort @sathiyantt
— Bharat Sharma (@sharmabharat45) April 6, 2019
Booked his berth for the World Cup 2019
Notwithstanding the defeat in the positions match, however, Sathiyan booked his ITTF Men’s World Cup berth to be held in Chengdu, China between October 18 and 20 where only 20 of the best players around the globe will complete.
The official participant list will be based on ITTF rankings issued in August as well as finishing positions in the continental tournaments but a sixth-placed finish in the toughest qualification around all but assures Sathiyan of his spot in Chengdu.
Sathiyan vs Lin Yun-Ju: How it happened
In the positions match, the world No 21 left-hander from Taipei was at his usual best and even before Sathiyan, the world No 28, could realise the enormity of the task, the youngster breezed through the first game.
Sathiyan managed a few more points in the next two games but the left-hander Taipei, exploiting the angles well, mounted the attack to put pressure on the Indian.
Sathiyan could have taken a game of the Taipei’s No 2 paddler when in the fourth he had two game points but the wily teenager pocketed it to push Sathiyan, who is competing in his first Asian Cup, to the sixth spot.
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