NEW DELHI: Ace Indian paddler Manika Batra played on the opening day of the main draw of the World Table Tennis Championships (WTT) Star Contender Goa as they recorded three wins in all formats at the Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium in Panaji.
Manika, currently ranked 34th in the world, first won her round of 16 in women’s singles, then partnered successively with Archana Kamath and Sathiyan Gnanasekaranto reach the quarter-finals of women’s doubles and mixed doubles respectively, in her first appearance at a home WTT tournament.
Sutirtha Mukherjee was the other Indian to win all of her matches on the day, triumphing in women’s singles and doubles respectively.
However, in what will be heartbreaking for home fans, Indian legend Achanta Sharath Kamal has pulled out of the tournament after losing her singles and doubles matches.
In the morning session, Sharath and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran lost their men’s doubles round of 16 to Koreans Jaehyun An and Seungmin Cho 3-1 (11-6,11-7,7-11,11-8).
Then, in the final match of the day, rising Kazakh star Kirill Gerassimenko beat the defending Commonwealth Games champion in straight matches (3-0: 11-8, 11-7, 11-8) to break hearts Indians.
India’s top-ranked women’s singles Manika got off to a flying start early in the first session, beating 152nd-ranked England’s Ho Tin-Tin 3-0 (11-4,11-8,11-5 ).
She then paired Archana with a hard-fought 3-2 (8-11.9-11.11-5.11-6.12-10) win over Hong Kong, China with Li Ching Wan and Zhu Chengzhu, after trailed 0-2 at one point in qualifying.
Finally, during the evening session, his pair with Sathiyan beat the Korean pair of Lim Jonghoon and Shin Yubin in four matches (3-1: 11-7,3-11,11-6,11-6 ) in mixed doubles. match.
“I am really happy that this WTT Star Contender tournament is taking place in India for the first time. The local crowd is there, and I’m really happy that people are coming to support me and all the Indian players,” Batra said.
“Today I won my singles, doubles and mixed doubles. Mixed doubles was really tough because we lost to them twice before. But this time we won, and I’m really happy with that. victory. Let’s see what happens in this tournament. I will give my 100% and my best for my country and for myself,” added Batra.
Manika, currently ranked 34th in the world, first won her round of 16 in women’s singles, then partnered successively with Archana Kamath and Sathiyan Gnanasekaranto reach the quarter-finals of women’s doubles and mixed doubles respectively, in her first appearance at a home WTT tournament.
Sutirtha Mukherjee was the other Indian to win all of her matches on the day, triumphing in women’s singles and doubles respectively.
However, in what will be heartbreaking for home fans, Indian legend Achanta Sharath Kamal has pulled out of the tournament after losing her singles and doubles matches.
In the morning session, Sharath and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran lost their men’s doubles round of 16 to Koreans Jaehyun An and Seungmin Cho 3-1 (11-6,11-7,7-11,11-8).
Then, in the final match of the day, rising Kazakh star Kirill Gerassimenko beat the defending Commonwealth Games champion in straight matches (3-0: 11-8, 11-7, 11-8) to break hearts Indians.
India’s top-ranked women’s singles Manika got off to a flying start early in the first session, beating 152nd-ranked England’s Ho Tin-Tin 3-0 (11-4,11-8,11-5 ).
She then paired Archana with a hard-fought 3-2 (8-11.9-11.11-5.11-6.12-10) win over Hong Kong, China with Li Ching Wan and Zhu Chengzhu, after trailed 0-2 at one point in qualifying.
Finally, during the evening session, his pair with Sathiyan beat the Korean pair of Lim Jonghoon and Shin Yubin in four matches (3-1: 11-7,3-11,11-6,11-6 ) in mixed doubles. match.
“I am really happy that this WTT Star Contender tournament is taking place in India for the first time. The local crowd is there, and I’m really happy that people are coming to support me and all the Indian players,” Batra said.
“Today I won my singles, doubles and mixed doubles. Mixed doubles was really tough because we lost to them twice before. But this time we won, and I’m really happy with that. victory. Let’s see what happens in this tournament. I will give my 100% and my best for my country and for myself,” added Batra.
