Sharath and Manika qualify for Tokyo Olympics!

New Delhi, Mar 20: Top Indian pair of Achanta Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra made their way into Tokyo Olympic 2021 after they won the final of the Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament. They defeated the Korean duo of Sang-Su Lee and Jeon Jihee on Saturday.

 

 

 

Sharath and Manika have already secured the singles berths on Thursday and now they book place for mixed doubles.

 

 

 

The duo faced a tough challenge in the initial part of the match as the scores read 0-2 after the second game. However, the 2018 Asian Games bronze medallist pair managed to hold an edge over their opponent and bagged all the four successive games to complete a 8-11, 6-11, 11-5, 11-6, 13-11, and 11-8.

 

 

Earlier on Thursday, all the four Indian paddlers Sharath, Manika, Gnanasekaran Sathiyan and Sutirtha Mukherjee earned themselves singles qualification berths at the Tokyo Olympics.

 

 

While Sathiyan and Sutirtha emerged winners in their respective categories of the South Asian Group, Sharath and Manika sealed Tokyo berths by virtue of being the highest-ranked second-placed players.