Manika Batra’s historic run at the WTT Champions in Montpellier, France came to an end on Saturday night as she lost to China’s Qian Tianyi 0-3 (8-11, 8-11, 10-12) in the quarterfinals.
On Friday, World No. 30 Manika made history by becoming the first Indian paddler to reach the quarterfinals of a WTT Champions event when she stunned World No. 14 Bernadette Szocs 3-1 (11-9, 6-11, 13-11, 11-9).
However, in the quarterfinal, Manika was no match for World No. 21 Qian Tianyi, a player who had upset compatriot and World No. 3 Wang Yidi in the pre-quarterfinals.
Unlike her pre-quarterfinal clash against Szocs, Manika looked less impressive against Tianyi. Her defence was shaky, and she hardly could bring his blocks into great effect, as the Chinese paddler drew points in with big smashes.
With Manika’s exit, India’s campaign at the WTT Champions in Montpellier ended.
Manika had started her campaign at the WTT Champions Montpellier with a comprehensive 3-0 (11-4, 11-8, 12-10) win over USA’s Lily Zhang and followed it with a 29-minute win over eighth-seeded Szocs, an opponent she previously defeated at the Paris Olympics during India’s 3-2 pre-quarterfinals win over Romania.
Meanwhile, India’s top-ranked paddler Sreeja Akula, the World No. 25, made a first-round exit after a 3-2 (6-11, 11-7, 11-1, 8-11, 11-8) loss to 13 Adriana Diaz of Puerto Rico.
There were no Indian paddlers in contention in the men’s singles competition at the event.
WTT Champions, launched in 2022, is a series of premier table tennis tournaments featuring the world’s top 32 male and female players with massive prize money and boost in ranking points.