Paris (France): Indian paddler Manika Batra’s hopes of winning a medal in the individual event were dashed out on Wednesday as she was beaten by the Japanese table tennis player Hirano Miu.
In the Pre-quarter final match of the women's event, India's Manika Batra faced Japan's dangerous player Miu Hirano. In the match, Miu won both the initial sets expectedly. Also known as 'Hurricane Hirano', Miu defeated Batra 11-6 in the first set and then by 11-9 in the second set. After this, Manika Batra made a brilliant comeback and won the third set.
Manika Batra made a brilliant comeback in the third set and defeated Miu 14-12 and kept her hopes alive in the match. In the fourth set, the Japanese continued her domination by winning the set by 11-8. Manika Batra failed to carve a comeback in the fifth set and lost the match as a result. She conceded the last set by 6-11 and her campaign in the Olympics 2024 ended while Japan's Miu reached the quarter-finals.
Manika registered her name in the record books earlier in the competition as she became the first Indian player to enter the pre-quarterfinals in the table tennis event. Sreeja Akula also achieved the same feat today on Wednesday. But, the veteran paddler is now out of the tournament and India's hopes of a medal in the individual event now solely rely on Sreeja who showcased a quality game in the Round of 32 fixture.
Notably, India will be making its debut in the table tennis team event at the Olympics and Manika Batra will be in action in the team event as well.
