Busan (South Korea): India women's team missed out on a direct 2024 Paris Olympic quota as their campaign concluded after suffering a heartbreaking defeat against formidable Chinese Taipei by 1-3 in the Round of 16 of the World Table Tennis Team Championship here on Wednesday.
The Chinese Taipei side sealed their spot in the world's biggest sporting event by making it to the quarterfinals in the elite tournament.
Earlier in the day, India had thumped Italy 3-0 in Round of 32, but seemed clueless against Chinese Taipei as they managed to win only one match when Seasoned Manika Batra thrashed Chen Szu-Yu in a five-game (11-8,8-11,4-11,11-9,11-9) cliffhanger.
However, the national women's team, playing for the second tie of the day, could not capitalise on the 1-0 lead. The 25-year-old, Sreeja Akula lost to Cheng I-Ching in three straight games (6-11,9-11,5-11), raising a ray of hope in Chinese Taipei team with scores on level 1-1 in the tie. Li Yu-Jhun then extended Chinese Taipei's lead to 2-1 with a 12-10, 15-13, 9-11, 11-2 win over Ayhika Mukherjee.
Batra, playing the fourth match of the tie against Cheng I-Ching, managed to draw level in the second game but could not force the decider as she succumbed to a 10-12,11-5,9-11,5-11 defeat.
India, however, earned crucial ranking points in the tournament beating Hungary, Spain, and Uzbekistan at the group stage and Italy in the Round of 32. The rankings points should help India to qualify for the Paris Olympics by the end of February.
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