Manika Batra scripts history, becomes first Indian paddler to reach Asian Games QFs in singles

Hangzhou, Sept 29: In a huge moment for India, Manika Batra has become the first Indian paddler ever to advance to the singles quarterfinals of the Asian Games. She defeated Thailand's Suthasini Sawettabut in her round of 16 match.

 

 

In nail-biting match, Batra held on to her nerves and advanced to the quarterfinals winning the fifth game and the match 3-2. The final result was 11-7, 6-11, 12-10, 11-13, 12-10, 11-6 in Batra's favour.

 

 

This accomplishment is especially significant for Batra, who had previously been eliminated in the round of 16 in the last two editions of the Asian Games. She will now face Wang Yidi of China (world rank 4) on Saturday, September 30 in the quarterfinals.

 

 

In the women's doubles category, Suthirtha Mukherjee and Ayhika Mukherjee easily reached quarterfinals after beating Sawettabut & Aueawiriyayothin of Thailand with 3-0 win.

 

However, Manush Shah and Manav Thakkar provided a glimmer of hope with a hard-fought victory, prevailing with a score of 3-2 (3-11, 11-9, 11-6, 5-11, 11-8) over Singapore's Yew En Koen Pang and Izaac Quek Yong.

 

And in huge setback, the experienced duo of Achanta Sharath Kamal and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran lost to China's Fan Zhendong and Wang Chuqin, with a score of 0-3 (5-11, 4-11, 7-11).