India overcame a major scare before defeating Thailand 3-2 in a dramatic women’s team table tennis Round of 16 encounter at the Asian Games 2026 on Tuesday. Sreeja Akula held her nerve in the deciding match to send India into the quarterfinals, where they will face North Korea.The tie could hardly have started worse for India. Sreeja was two games ahead against Orawan Paranang but could not finish the job. Paranang fought back to win 7-11, 1-11, 11-9, 11-6, 12-10 and put Thailand in front.Asian Games Full Coverage | Schedule|Medal TallyYashaswini Ghorpade restored parity with a gritty 3-2 win over Suthasini Sawettabut. After taking the opening game 11-8, Yashaswini lost the next two 5-11, 7-11. She responded strongly, claiming the fourth and fifth games 11-9, 11-9 to make it 1-1.Thailand moved ahead again after Diya Chitale suffered a narrow defeat to Jinnapan Sawettabut. Chitale had a match point at 10-9 in the deciding game, but Jinnapan held her nerve to win 13-11. The Thai player prevailed 11-7, 5-11, 11-7, 11-7, 13-11.With India staring at elimination at 1-2, Yashaswini produced one of the key performances of the tie. She brushed aside Paranang 11-5, 11-8, 11-9 in just 21 minutes to bring India level and force a decider.Sreeja was then entrusted with the responsibility of closing out the contest against Suthasini. She dropped the opening game 9-11 but immediately turned the match around, winning the next two 11-6, 12-10.Suthasini led 8-6 in the fourth game, but Sreeja responded with five points in a row to seize control. She eventually won the game 11-9 and completed a 9-11, 11-6, 12-10, 11-8 victory, sparking India’s comeback win.India’s campaign also featured mixed results across several disciplines on Tuesday.In boxing, Sakshi Chaudhary advanced after beating the Philippines’ Aira Villegas in the women’s 51kg Round of 32. India’s men’s kabaddi team also registered a commanding 63-31 victory over South Korea in Group A.Elavenil Valarivan and Parth Mane finished second in the 10m air rifle mixed team qualification in shooting but ended fourth in the final.In soft tennis, Jay Meena defeated Pakistan’s Hussain Arain 4-0 in the men’s singles Group D, while Aadhya Tiwari went down 1-4 to Thailand’s Alisha Ziegler in the women’s singles.Wushu saw Langlentombi Devi Hanjabam finish ninth in the women’s Nanquan final. In men’s individual foil, Sachin and Hemash Singh both finished fourth in their respective pools.In swimming, Aryan Nehra came fourth in the men’s 1500m freestyle final B. India’s 4x100m medley relay quartet of Rishabh Das, Akash Mani, Benediction Beniston and Dhanush Suresh finished seventh overall in the heats to qualify for the final.There were setbacks too. Chetan Bhatt lost the men’s 84kg kumite bronze medal match, while Alisha Choudhary was beaten 1-6 by Indonesia’s Cok Istri Agung Sanistyarani in the women’s -55kg Round of 16.India also suffered a 0-3 defeat to Malaysia in the men’s Team Regu competition in sepaktakraw. In equestrian dressage, Ashish Limaye finished 13th, Arjan Nagra 23rd and Fouaad Mirza 26th.