File photo of Manika Batra© Twitter
Top Indian paddler Manika Batra's brilliant campaign at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Saudi Smash came to an end after she lost to world number 5 Hina Hayata of Japan in the quarter-finals on Thursday. Japan's Hayata defeated world number 39 Manika 4-1 (7-11, 11-6, 11-4, 13-11, 11-2) in 39 minutes to reach the semi-finals.
The 28-year-old Indian had started her campaign in Saudi Smash with a 3-0 (11-6, 13-11, 11-8) win over Spain's Andreea Dragoman in the first round.
In the round of 32, Manika came back after losing the first game to win the next three, stunning top Chinese player and World No. 2 Olympic medalist Wang Manyu, winning the match 6–11, 11-5, 11-7. 12-10 in 38 minutes.
Manika is expected to regain her status as the top-ranked Indian woman in the ITTF world rankings after a successful run in Jeddah.
(This story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Topics mentioned in this article
Manika Batra