Indian table tennis player Manika Batra defeated Singapore’s Wong Xin Ru to secure a place in the last-32 round of women’s singles of the World TT Championships on Tuesday. Manika will next take on Georgina Pota of Hungary.
Also Read: World TT Championships: G Sathiyan reaches pre-quarterfinals of the men’s and mixed doubles
Ranked 39 in the world, Manika had to sweat it out to get the better of her 171st-ranked opponent in the second round encounter. The Singaporean gave Manika a tough fight in the first two games. But the Indian made a stunning comeback to win the match 11-9, 14-12, 11-4, 11-8. At the same time, Germany’s Nina Mittelham locked horns with Reeth Tennison in the women’s singles round of 64. After a tense struggle, Mittelham emerged with a 4-1 victory (11-8, 11-3, 9-11, 11-8, 11-5).
Meanwhile, Manika Batra and Archana Kamath gave a standout performance in the Women’s doubles Round of 32. They defeated Dora Madaras and Georgina Pota 3-0. They displayed incredible teamwork and chemistry to win 11-5, 11-6, 11-7. While the Mixed Doubles Round of 32 saw American pair Nikhil Kumar and Amy Wang face off against Manav Thakkar and Archana Kamath. It was a fiercely contested match, with both pairs exhibiting exceptional skill and determination.
After an intense battle that went down to the wire, Kumar and Wang emerged as the winners. They secured a narrow 3-2 victory. The 6-11, 11-9, 11-5, 5-11, 11-9 score highlighted the see-saw nature of the match, with each pair fighting tooth and nail for every point.
However, India’s top-ranked men’s paddler, G. Sathiyan went down to World No. 9 Dang Qiu of Germany 11-6, 11-6, 11-5, 11-7 in the World TT Championships second round. Sathiyan could not do much against the mighty world number nine Dang Qiu. Sharath and Sathiyan will play their men’s doubles pre-quarterfinal on Wednesday. Manika and Sathiyan play their mixed doubles round of 16 contest later on Tuesday.
