Sports

Manika became the first Indian to reach the semi-finals of Asian Table Tennis

Star table tennis player Manika Batra on Friday became the first Indian woman to reach the semi-finals of the Asian Cup Table Tennis tournament here. She defeated her higher-ranked Chen Hsu Yu of Chinese Taipei 4–3 in the quarterfinals. World No. 44 Manika defeated world No. 23 Chen 6-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-7, 8-11, 9-11, 11-9 in a hard-fought women’s singles match. . Manika has secured the record for the best performance by an Indian in the 39-year history of the Asian Cup.

Earlier in 2015, Achanta Sharath Kamal and in 2019, G Sathiyan had finished sixth. The Indian player had earlier upset China’s world number seven Chen Jingtong. Manika will take on world number five Mima Ito of Japan and second seed here in the semi-finals on Saturday. The second semi-final will be played between China’s world number four Wang Yidi and Japan’s Hina Hayata (world number six).

The $200,000 prize pool is being contested by the top 16 players from across the continent in men’s and women’s categories based on world rankings and qualification. Despite losing the first game, Manika came back brilliantly to get her second win of the tournament. With this win, Manika improved her record against the Taipei player to 2-4.

Manika said after the match, “He is a great player. I had recently lost to her in the World Team Championship. But this time I changed my strategy which paid off. Today’s win has boosted my morale and I will play tomorrow’s match with full concentration.” After losing the first game, Manika took complete control of the match and took the next three games in her bag. The Taipei player then won two games to take the match to a decider in which the Indian won. Meanwhile, G Sathiyan and Sharath Kamal, who lost in the first round of men’s singles, will get USD 2250 each.

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