Indian table tennis player Manika Batra’s impressive run in the quarter-finals of the Saudi Smash 2024 tournament ended after she lost to Japan’s former Asian champion, Hina Hayata, in Jeddah on Thursday.
The game lasted for 39 minutes, and Batra lost 4-1 (11-7, 6-11, 4-11,11-13, 2-11) against Hayata, who is ranked fifth. Although Batra initially took the lead with her strong forehand, Hayata’s flatter returns forced errors out of Batra, resulting in her defeat.
This was Batra’s third loss to Hayata in four meetings. Batra’s run at the Saudi Smash will lift her into the top 30 of the singles rankings for the first time. On Wednesday, Batra became the first Indian singles table tennis player to reach the quarter-finals of a WTT Grand Smash event with a convincing 3-0 win over world No. 14 Nina Mittelham of Germany.
The loss also ended India’s run at the Saudi Smash 2024. Sharath Kamal and Sreeja Akula were ousted in the opening round of the men’s and women’s singles main draw, respectively.
Manav Thakkar-Manush Shah (men’s doubles) and Ayhika Mukherjee-Sutirtha Mukherjee (women’s doubles) lost in the second round while the mixed doubles pair of Harmeet Desai and Yashaswini Ghorpade were knocked out in the final eight stages.
The Saudi Smash will conclude on Saturday.
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