2024 Paris Olympics: Indian paddler Manika Batra reaches second round
India's Manika Batra has reached the table tennis women's singles second round at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Manika beat Great Britain's Anna Hursey 4-1 in a hard-fought battle. The Indian paddler had a 3-0 lead before Hursey dragged it into the fifth game. Notably, Manika cleared the first round at the 2020 Tokyo Games as well. Here are the key stats.
A look at match summary
Despite making sporadic errors, Manika was on fire in the first three games. She won 11-8, 12-10, 11-9 before losing the fourth game 9-11. Although the Indian paddler was ahead, Hursey won the last few points to make a comeback. Manika was back to her best in the fifth game and eventually won 11-4.
Manika joins Sreeja Akula
Earlier in the day, Manika's compatriot Sreeja Akula also prevailed in her table tennis women's singles R64 match. The latter claimed a 4-0 win over Sweden's Christina Kallberg to start her campaign. Notably, this marks this first instance of multiple Indian players reaching the table tennis women's singles Round of 32 at the Olympic Games.
Sharath Kamal bows out
On the other hand, India's Sharath Kamal suffered a forgettable defeat to Slovenia's Deni Kozul in the table tennis men's singles Round of 64. Sharath, featuring in his fifth Olympic Games, had an early exit with a 2-4 (12-10, 9-11, 6-11, 7-11, 11-8, 10-12) defeat. Notably, India eyes its maiden Olympic medal in the sport.
