Iran's men's table tennis team dominated India's team in their Group F encounter at the Asian Games 2026, winning 3-0. Nima Alamian secured the win with a five-game victory over Harmeet Desai, sealing the tie with an 11-2 win in the deciding game. Earlier, Noshad Alamiyan defeated Manush Shah 11-3, 11-8, 12-10, while Benyamin Faraji beat Manav Thakkar 11-2, 11-6, 11-6.
India's men's team had started their campaign on a positive note, winning 3-0 against Indonesia in their opening Group F tie. Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, Manav Thakkar, and Manush Shah won their respective matches against Indonesia. Notably, Thakkar had a tough five-game battle against Muhammad Junindra, ultimately winning 11-7, 8-11, 11-6, 6-11, 11-9.
India's women's team also had a successful start, winning 3-0 against Indonesia and edging Singapore 3-2 in another Group F encounter. The Indian team has been performing well across various disciplines at the Aichi-Nagoya Games, with several strong showings in shooting, mixed martial arts, and hockey.
In shooting, Elavenil Valarivan won silver in the women's 10m air rifle individual final and teamed up with Sonam Maskar and Vidarsa Vinod to claim another silver in the team event. This helped open India's medal tally at the Games. Additionally, Suchika Tariyal secured a medal in mixed martial arts after defeating Mongolia's Altanchimeg Baigalmaa in the women's traditional 60kg quarterfinal.
India's women's hockey team began their campaign with a convincing 19-0 win over Uzbekistan, while the men's team defeated Indonesia 13-1 in Pool A. The Indian women's cricket team also had a significant win, defeating Bangladesh in the semifinal to book a place in the gold-medal match against Sri Lanka.
India's women's badminton team started their campaign with a 3-0 victory over Kazakhstan. However, not all Indian teams had a smooth start, as Rishabh Das finished sixth in the men's 100m backstroke final, and Utkarsh Patil, Benediction Beniston, and Akash Mani had varying results in the men's 100m freestyle heats.
In other events, Suraj Singh Mayanglambam finished 11th in the men's Changquan final in wushu, while Aparna Dahiya and Vikrant Baliyan lost their respective Sanda Round of 16 bouts. Quimcy Dsouza also lost the women's singles bronze-medal match and the mixed doubles bronze-medal contest with Mohamed Anas Beg in teqball.
Key points
- Iran's men's table tennis team won 3-0 against India's team in their Group F encounter at the Asian Games 2026.
- India's men's team had previously won 3-0 against Indonesia in their opening Group F tie.
- India's women's team won 3-0 against Indonesia and edged Singapore 3-2 in their Group F encounters.
