India runners-up in Commonwealth team TT

Gao Ning was India's nemesis as Olympian Achanta Sharath Kamal and his compatriots went down to Singapore 1-3 and finished runners-up in the men's team event of the 18th Commonwealth Table Tennis Championship in Glasgow on Saturday.

The Indian team, which put up brilliant efforts to notch seven consecutive wins and enter the final, failed to live up to expectations when it mattered most.

They started on a disappointing note, with Gao spanking Sourav Chakraborty 11-6, 11-6, 11-9 in the first match of the final.

World number 72 Sharath then staged a spirited fightback for India, beating Z Yang 11-8, 9-11, 11-9, 3-11, 11-8 after a long drawn battle in the second match.

However, former National champion Subhajit Saha went down to LX Cai 2-11, 2-11, 9-11, 8-11 before Gao again returned to the action and drubbed Sharath 11-8, 11-9, 11-2 to round off the tally.

The Indian women's team had earlier failed to qualify for the final stage of the team event.

Singapore beat Malaysia 3-0 to win the women's team title.