World Table Tennis Championships: Manika Batra, Mouma Das end campaign after quarter-finals loss

Dusseldorf: The dream run of Manika Batra and Mouma Das in the World Table Tennis Championships ended with the loss against the mighty Chinese duo of Ding Ning and Liu Shiwen in the women’s doubles quarter-finals on Friday. The No 1 and 2 Chinese players, who are seeded fourth with direct entry in the main draw, won 11-7, 11-7, 11-1, 11-3 to enter the semi-finals. [caption id=“attachment_2896152” align=“alignleft” width=“300”]  File photo of Manika Batra . Getty Images[/caption] Manika and Mouma had become the first Indian doubles pair to reach last eight after getting a walkover in the round of 16. “We did our best and are elated to have entered the quarter-finals. We got a bit lucky yesterday but combined really well to reach this important stage,” said Mouma, who with 16 appearances is the first Asian to register most number of appearances at the World Championships. At 33, Mouma may have played her last worlds (individuals), but it was a big achievement for the diminutive player from Kolkata to have sustained for so long, since her first World Championships appearance in Manchester way back in 1997. Out of 16 appearances so far, she has participated in individual competitions on eight occasions. On Friday evening, in the round of 32, Sharath Kamal is slated to play China’s Lin Gaoyuan, who is ranked 40 in the world and seeded 33. Sharath, the lone Indian left in the fray and ranked 54, is seeded 43.