Indian paddlers stumble in semi-final

Indian paddlers' hopes of winning the gold medal in the men's table tennis team event were shattered when they went down 1-3 to strong contenders England in the 17th Commonwealth Games in Manchester on Monday.

The Indians, who had progressed to the semi-final stage without much hiccups, failed to counter their much stronger English opponents with only Soumyadeep Roy managing to win his match.

England's star performer Mathew Syed gave a perfect start to the hosts by whipping S Raman 11-3 11-7 but the Indians raised hopes of a fightback with Soumyadeep Roy prevailing over Terry Young 9-11 11-4 13-11 11-6 to level the score 1-1.

But the hosts consolidated their position when Gareth Herbert got the better of Chetan Baboor 11-9 7-11 11-4.

Syed then provided the finishing touches to the English triumph by defeating Baboor with a hard-fought 10-12 15-13 11-8 11-4 verdict.

The Indian women's team, which failed to reach the semi-final, spanked Wales 3-0 in a match for the fifth place.