Manika Batra lost to Japanese paddler Miu Hirano 4-1 in the women’s singles round of 16 matches in the Paris Olympics, on Wednesday.
With this, Manika’s singles campaign at the Paris Olympics comes to an end, although she still has the women’s team event in August.
The Japanese started the game on a strong note but Manika was in the game until 6-6. The Japanese then went on a scoring spree, taking five consecutive points and by extension, the first game.
Manika responded well in the second game and had a healthy 6-2 lead, but once again, Hirano took six points on the trot and ultimately won the set 11-9, taking a commanding 2-0 lead.
Much like the first two games, the third game was evenly contested as well, but Manika kept on going until the end, saving three game points and eventually converting her first game point, pulling things back to 2-1.
But the next two games saw Hirano shift gears and Manika could not provide an answer to the Japanese’s attacks. The latter ultimately won 4-1 and advanced to the quarterfinals.
Manika became the first Indian paddler to qualify for the round of 16 in the Olympics and she still has the women’s team event coming up.
With this, three of India’s four paddlers competing in the singles event at the Paris Olympics have been knocked out, while Sreeja Akula will face world no.1 Sun Yingsha of China later tonight.