Ace Indian paddler Manika Batra defeated Prithika Pavade of France reach the round of 16 of women’s singles on Tuesday.
With this win Manika became the first-ever Indian to reach the round of 16 in individual table tennis event at Olympics.
Playing against Indian-origin paddler Prithika, who represents France, Manika displayed a clinical performance to win four straight games and advance to the next round.
Ranked 28th in the world, Manika displayed brilliant composure against a higher-ranked Prithika who is ranked 18th in the world.
In the first game, Manika won the game 11-9 as the crowd continued to cheer the local paddler.
While Prithika displayed some good attacking shots, Manika was clinical with her smashes and didn’t give any breathing room to her opponent.
Manika continued her dominance and won the second and third game 11-6 and 11-9 respectively.
In the fourth game, Manika came up with a couple of brilliant smashes which proved to be too much for Prithika.
Manika is expected to face either Hong Kong China’s Zhu Chengzhu or eighth-seeded Japanese player Miu Hirano next.
Earlier, Manika had defeated world No. 103 Anna Hursey of Great Britain 4-1 to progress to the round of 32.
Olympic debutant Sreeja Akula will look to join compatriot Manika in the round of 16 as she plays Zeng Jian next.