Business as usual: India down Australia

New Delhi, April 15

IT has been clear in the recent past that India is not a happy hunting ground for the Australians. After the Indian women created history by making it to the semifinals earlier in the day, their men complimented it by crushing Australia 4-0 to meet defending champions England on Monday in the NTPC 15th Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships at the IG Stadium here on Sunday.

India tried out some new combinations against Australia and succeeded. Instead of the regular doubles pair of Baboor and Raman, the hosts played Soumyadeep Roy and Subhajit Saha. The youngsters did not disappoint.

‘‘It will be a tough battle against England in the semifinals. But we will put up a best show,’’ said a confident coach Manjit Dua. Meanwhile, his women squad will play Malaysia in their semifinals.

For the women’s squad this has been the high point in the Commonwealth competition. When MS Mythili hit a forehand winner past Innes Peri Campbell, the entire Indian camp jumped with joy.

‘‘The girls have made history,’’ said excited coaches Manjit Dua and Sunil Babras as the team members celebrated their success by shaking hands with each other. For the first time, Indian women have progressed beyond the No.5 position, which they held the last time in Singapore.

In Glasgow (Scotland) in 1997, they had finished sixth. ‘‘Our girls have been improving in every edition,’’ said an elated Dua. ‘‘We have beaten three strong teams — Canada (4-3), England (4-0) and Australia (4-2) — and deserve a place in the semis,’’ he added. Mythili, who had lost to Miao Miao in three games in the second singles of the tie, however, said that she was confident in the match against Innes Peri Campbell. ‘‘Miao Miao was their strongest player. But since Mouma had beaten Peri, I was also confident of beating her,’’ Mythili said.