New Delhi: If it was the pair of Anthony Amalraj and G.Sathiyan that did well to claim a bronze in the Bulgaria Open at Panagyurishte in the last week of August, it was the women’s doubles duo of Mouma Das and Manika Batra who added a bronze to India’s tally in the Czech Open at Olomouc which concluded just a couple of days ago.

But for this, the Indians couldn’t do much in the face of tough competition in both major events of the ITTF World Tour as our men and women draw failed to progress after entering the main draw.

Both Amalraj and Sathiyan fought well to reach the semifinals—they won the quarterfinals against the Russian pair of Konstantin Chernov and Sadi Ismailov 3-2—but lost to Taipei’s duo of Cheng-Ting Liao and Chia-Hung Sun 10-12, 11-5, 5-11, 11-9, 12-10 to settle for the bronze. The Indians battled it out nicely but the Taipei men were too good and played better under pressure.

There was a similar script replayed in the Czhech Open, this time by Mouma and Manika who after getting past the German pair of Chantal Mantz and Yuan Wan 3-2 (7-11, 8-11, 12-10, 12-10, 11-7). It was a fantastic win posted by the Indians as they were down by two games before launching an all out attack to level the score on extended points. Probably, this gave them the confidence as they won the decider with a lot to spare.

However, they found Maria Dolgikh and Polina Mikhailova very tough to crack in the semifinals as the Russians won 8-11, 14-12, 14-12, 11-4. Mouma and Manika managed to take the first game rather easily but the Russians fought well and won some crucial points in both the second and third games even after being stretched with three deuces. Pressure took the better off both the Indians as they lost after setting the match nicely.