Paris Olympics 2024: Paddler Manika Batra goes down fighting to Japan's Miu Hirano in round of 16

Manika Batra went down fighting to Japan’s Miu Hirano in the women’s singles pre-quarterfinals of the table tennis tournament at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Wednesday. Batra lost 1-4 (6-11, 9-11, 14-12, 8-11, 6-11) to the 13th ranked Japanese, with the 28th ranked Indian wining just the third game after losing the first two.

Batra and Hirano were involved in an evenly-fought first game. The scores were tied at 6-6 at one stage, but Hirano went ahead by winning four consecutive points to make it 10-6. Batra erred with her shots in the second half of the first game, hitting the net a couple of times and another couple of shots going out of the table. Hirano eventually took the first game 11-6.

Batra fought valiantly in the second game and had a four-point lead with the score leading 5-1. However, the 24 year-old Japanese bounced in the game once again to make it 7-6, and although the 29 year-old Manika fought back to make it 9-9, it wasn’t long until Hirano sealed the second game 11-9.

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Batra seemed to have found her rhythm early in the third game as she took a 5-1 lead. That lead soon became a 7-2 lead for Batra. Hirano, however, was in no mood to give up just yet as she made Manika play those bad shots once again to level the scores 9-9. From then on, the third game was a highly intense affair and despite a spirited display from Hirano, Manika kept calm to win the game 14-12.

In the fourth game, Hirano once again went ahead with a 4-1 scoreline, but Manika scripted yet another comeback to level the scores 6-6. Hirano, however, was too strong and aggressive for Manika as the Japanese player won the fourth game 11-8.

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Manika, however, never looked in control of the proceedings after winning that third game and was completely outplayed by a clinical Hirano in the fifth and final game, with the Japanese winning it 11-6.

Later on Wednesday, Sreeja Akula will be in action in her round of 16 match against China’s Sun Yingsha. Should Sreeja win that match, she will become the first Indian paddler to make the quarter-finals of an Olympics.