New Delhi, Sept 29: Manika Batra redeemed her position somewhat after a string of failures to keep a glimmer medal hope in the women’s singles when she beat Suthasini Sawettabut 4-2 (11-7, 6-11, 12-10, 11-13, 12-10, 11-6) in the pre-quarterfinals of the Asian Games at Hangzhou today.

World No. 36 Indian paddler will face World No. 4 Wang Yidi of China, with the winner entering the medal round.

After going through some harrowing moments in the team event, particularly against Suthasini, Manika came to terms in her singles to tame the Thai, who is just three places below her at No. 39. The match was in balance until the sixth game when Manika shifted gears after going 3-2 up and outwit her Thail opponent in what was a sweet revenge. 

In a big surprise, Manush Shah and Manav Thakkar defeated Koen Yew En Pang and Issac Yong Quek of Singapore 3-11, 11-9, 11-6, 5-11, 11-8 to move into the quarterfinals of the men’s doubles, while the experienced duo of Sharath Kamal and G.Sathiyan lost their pre-quarterfinals to the second-seeded Chinese pair of Fan Zhendong and Wang Chuquim 5-11, 4-11, 7-11.

Manush and Manav will next face the top-seeded Korean pair of Jang Woojin and Lim Jonghoon, also ranked No. 1 duo in the world.

In the women’s doubles, Sutirtha Mukherjee and Ayhika Mukherjee combined well to thrash the Thai pair of Wanwisa Aueawiriyayothin and Jinnipa Sawettabut 11-8, 11-7, 11-4 to enter the quarterfinals. But they will face World No. 2 pair of Cheng Mang and Wang Yidi from China.

However, Sreeja Akula and Diya Chitale went down 3-11, 5-11, 8-11 in the other pre-quarterfinal match to Japan’s Miwa Harimoto and Miyuu Kihara, marking their exit at the pre-quarterfinal stages of the competition.

In men’s singles, Sharath Kamal battled in a late charge against Chinese Taipei’s Chihuahua-Yuan Chuang, ranked No. 28, but eventually lost 7-11, 10-12, 11-9, 5-11, 12-10, 11-6, 8-11 to end his campaign at the Games. But even before that, Sathiyan bowed out tamely, losing 3-11, 3-11, 6-11, 3-11 to Wang Chuquin. The World No. 2 Chinese proved too hot for the No. 107 ranked Indian paddler. 

Manika-Sathiyan Pair Goes Down Fighting

New Delhi, Sept 28: The much-anticipated pre-quarterfinal showdown between the Indian duo of G. Sathiyan and Manika Batra and Clarence Zhe Chew and Jian Zeng of Singapore ended as a whimper as the World No. 8 pair will return home without a medal from the Asian Games this time.

Sathiyan and Manika flattered to deceive when they lost 2-3 (11-7, 11-9, 11-13, 10-12, 3-11) to the World No. 28 pair from Singapore after leading 2-0. The third game changed the script, as after the deuce, the Singaporeans fought well and hard to beat the Indians. In the fourth, the Indian pair squandered the opportunity and let their opponents gain the upper hand, especially the left-handed Clarence doing the most damage. They finished in style in the decisive fifth to enter the quarters, and the Indians never recovered from the shock.

Harmeet Desai and Sreeja Akula, the second pair, had little chance against Thailand's Sanguansin Parakpoom and Parannang Orawan as another right-left combination, particularly Orawan, thumped the Indians in straight games.

Of the four Indians in the singles fray, Sathiyan, A. Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra moved into the pre-quarterfinals after winning their R-32 matches against lesser rivals. But Sreeja Akula lost to her North Korean opponent, Pyon Songgyong, 6-11, 4-11, 13-15, 9-11.

In the men's doubles, both Indian pairs—G. Sathiyan-Sharath Kamal and Manush Shah-Manav Thakkar—moved into the pre-quarters, posting easy triumphs, as did the women's doubles duos of Sutirtha Mukherjee and Ayhika Mukherjee and Diya Chitale and Sreeja Akula.

Results:

Men’s Singles R-32: G Sathiyan bt Lafi Turki Almutairi (KSA) 11-5, 11-6, 11-9, 11-2; A. Sharath Kamal bt Shaffan Mohammed Ismail (MDV) 11-9, 11-2, 11-7, 11-7.

Women’s Singles R-32: Manika Batra bt Nabita Shreshta (NEP) 11-5, 11-4, 11-3, 11-2; Sreeja Akula lost to Songgyong Pyon (PRK) 6-11, 4-11, 13-15, 9-11.

Men’s Doubles R-32: Manush Shah/Manav Thakkar bt Munsif Moosa Ahmed/Shaffan Mohammed Ismail (MDV) 11-8, 9-11, 11-6, 11-2; Sharath Kamal/G. Sathiyan bt Ser-Od Ganghukyag/Manlaijargal Munkh-Ochir (MGL) 11-5, 11-3, 11-3.

Women’s Doubles R-32: Sreeja Akula/Diya Chitale bt Ngoc Tran Mai/NgaNguyen Thi (VIE) 11-8, 15-13, 11-6; Sutirtha Mukherjee/Ayhika Mukherjee bt Zauresh Akasheva/Anastassiya Lavrova (KAZ) 11-7, 11-4, 11-7.

Mixed Doubles R-16: G. Sathiyan/Manika Batra lost to Clarence Zhe Chew/Jian Zeng (SGP) 11-7, 11-9, 11-13, 10-12, 3-11; Harmeet Desai/Sreeja Akula lost to Parakpoom Sanguansin/Orawan Parannang (THA) 4-11, 6-11, 10-12.

Indian pairs make progress

New Delhi, Sept 27: The two Indian mixed doubles pairs—Manika Batra and G. Sathiyan and Sreeja Akula and Harmeet Desai—moved into the pre-quarterfinals of the table tennis events at the Asian Games in Hangzhou in the evening today.

Earlier, Manush Shah and Manav Thakkar made inroads as the duo entered Round 32 at the Games after somem struggle.

Manika and Sathiyan, one of the top pairs for the medal contest, defeated Suthasini Sawettabut and Napat Thanmathikom 10-12, 11-8, 11-3, 11-8. But the second Indian pair of Sreeja and Li Hui Seak and Cheng Chi Cheong beat 12-10, 11-7, 11-7 without breaking a sweat.

Manush and Manav, appearing in their first Games, put up solid resistance before beating another Thai pair of Napat Thanmathikom and Sitisak Nuchchart 11-8, 8-11, 11-6, 7-11, 12-10.