India returned to winning ways with a 3-0 victory over minnows Finland to secure a pre-quarter-final berth in the men's second division at the World Table Tennis Championships in Bremen, Germany, on Wednesday.
The Indian men have seven points from four outings, after three victories and a loss in Group H. They play their last league match against Bulgaria, who also have seven points.
Singapore, the toppers with eight points among six countries in the group, have one more match against lowly Finland and will directly get a quarter-final berth along with the three top teams from three groups of the division.
However, it was same old story for the Indian women. They were blanked 0-3 by holders China and finished at the bottom in the championship division.
Having lost all their matches and earned only five points, they will play for positions 13 to 24.
Commonwealth Games champion Achanta Sharath Kamal began India's campaign on the right note as he thrashed Timo Tamminen 4-11, 8-11, 7-11.
Soumyadeep Roy bounced back in style after losing the first game 8-11 against Benedek Olah to pocket the next three 11-0, 11-8, 11-1 and hand India a 2-0 lead in the five match tie.
National champion Subhajit Saha sealed victory with a 11-4, 11-7, 12-10 win over Mikko Kontala.
In the women's section, top seeds China proved too tough for India, as they did not concede a single game.
Nandita Saha lost the opening match to Li Xiao 8-11, 8-11, 2-11. Poloumi Ghatak also wilted without a fight against Yan Guo, losing 5-11, 9-11, 8-11. Debutant Neha Agarawal put up an impressive show, but lost to Nan Wang 1-11, 6-11, 9-11.
