Commonwealth TT: Indian men defend crown, women down Singapore for maiden title

Indian men defended their crown beating England while the women blanked Singapore for their maiden title at the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships here Friday.

England tried to change the script but the Indian men brought in a twist to the tale through birthday boy Harmeet Desai to end the English hopes to lift the Host Association's Cup.

The men beat England 3-2 while Indian women did the impossible downing Singapore 3-0 to dethrone the defending champions Singapore who had a stranglehold on the trophy since 1997. After having won the Cup for eight consecutive times, their vice-like grip was snapped when they chose to send a weak team.

Men, on the other hand, could extend their reign for the second successive time after annexing the title in the previous edition at Surat in 2015. The Indian men had won their first crown in Kuala Lumpur in 2004.

Archana Kamath began it all for India but it took some time before she could shake off her rustiness to overcome Ho Tin-Tin, the ...