Sathiyan-Amalraj clinch bronze in Australian Open

New Delhi (IANS): The Indian pair of G. Sathiyan and Anthony Amalraj won the bronze at the World Tour Platinum Australian Open table tennis after they went down 12-14, 9-11, 8-11 to top seed Korean pair of Jeoung Youngsik and Lee Sangsu in Geelong near Melbourne on Friday.

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

The Korean pair could not be pinned down despite being extended in the first game. But credit must be given to the Indian duo who fought really well before bowing out in the semifinal.

However, Sathiyan-Amalraj can take pride in the fact that they had beaten the other Korean pair in the fray, Jang Woojin and Lim Jonghoon, in the quarterfinal. The Indian pair won 5-11, 11-6, 14-12, 11-8.

The lone bronze was the only silver lining as all the other Indian paddlers failed to cross the preliminary round hurdles in every event. Sathiyan and Sharath Kamal made it to the third round of the qualifying matches in men's singles before bowing out. The others faded out earlier.