Former Commonwealth Games Champion Manika Batra on Friday made it to the pre-quarterfinals of the women’s singles event at the Asian Table Tennis Championships 2024 in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Asian Games bronze medalists Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee also qualified for the quarterfinals in women’s doubles. However, the rest of the Indian table tennis contingent, including veteran Sharath Kamal, were unable to progress.
Manika Batra, ranked 29th in the table tennis rankings, made it to the round of 16 by defeating world number 77 Cheng Hsin-Tzu of Chinese Taipei 3-0 (11-7, 11-9, 11-8).
Earlier in the day, Manika won 3-1 (9-11, 11-6, 11-9, 14-12) in a close match against Philippines’ Keith Cruz.
India’s top-seeded women’s singles player Sreeja Akula, ranked 26th in the world, suffered a 3-0 (11-9, 11-6, 11-8) defeat against team bronze medalist Kuai Man of the People’s Republic of China at the World Championships. After the defeat, it had to be eliminated in the round of 32.
Diya Chitale and Ayhika Mukherjee were also eliminated in the same round. Whereas, in women’s doubles, Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee kept India’s hopes alive by qualifying for the quarterfinals.
The Indian pair defeated Kazakhstan’s Zauresh Akasheva and Sarvinoz Mirkadirova 3-0 (11-4, 11-7, 11-8).
Manav Thakkar, Manush Shah and Harmeet Desai have reached the round of 32 in men’s singles. Manush Shah defeated Ahmed Korani of Qatar 3-0. Harmeet Desai defeated Rasheed of Brunei 3-1 while Manav Thakkar got the better of Jo Kum Gwang of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea 3-2.
Sharath Kamal lost to Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Alksab 3-2 (8-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-7, 11-6) in the round of 64 while Sathiyan Gnanasekaran was out after losing in the round of 128. Have become.
The Indian men’s and women’s teams had earlier won bronze medals in the competition. Let us tell you, the Asian Table Tennis Championship 2024 will conclude on Sunday.
