Tokyo Olympics: A stunning comeback pushes Manika Batra to 3rd round in Table Tennis singles

Indian table tennis player Manika Batra won her second-round match on Sunday against Margaryta Pesotska of Ukraine at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Batra surprised 20th-seeded Pesotka to advance to the third round of the women’s singles singles, while Hong Kong’s G Sathiyan Lam Siu Hang surprised in the second round of the highly competitive table tennis tournament on Sunday. Batra overcame a two-match deficit to beat the Ukrainian 6-1, 4-11 (4-11), 11-7 (7-12), 10-8 (11-11) and 5-11, 7-7 in 57 minutes.

Manika Batra did not let the controversy affect her first-round match on Sunday. The former world number one Deepika Seed kept her cool in an intense matchup to beat eighth seed Mackenzie Brown of the United States 6-5, 9-9.

Manika Batra in action during the second-round table tennis match in the women’s singles against Margaryta Pesotska of Ukraine. Batra was in fine form on Saturday, beating Britain’s Ho Tin Tin 4-0. After a little more than four minutes, Batra went to the Ukrainian with 4: 11 left in the first game.

When the pandemic hit last year, Manika had little success. She fought her way back from three games down to match point against the world number one.

Manika Batra and Sharath Kamal won mixed doubles bronze at the 2018 Asian Games. Deepika Kumari claimed her third individual World Championship gold of her career, contributing to the team triumph, while Atanu Das clinched his World Championship individual medal in style by winning the men’s individual final. The two qualified for the coveted World Cup finals in archery.

Their return to the top of the international calendar year is two years ahead of schedule, with India’s best ever World Cup placings, two individual medals and a team gold medal. The Indian paddlers received a tough draw for the Olympic Games in Tokyo on Wednesday. Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra will meet the third-seeded Chinese Lin Yun Ju Cheng I Ching in Taipei on Saturday.

Batra, ranked 62, had an easier round in the women’s singles when she faced Britain’s Ho Tin Tin, who was 32 places behind her. Sathiyan, seeded 26th and with a bye in the first round, looked good and improved to 4-1, but lost the last two games to make the decision. There was nothing to disappoint for the 21-year-old Indian, who lost the first game.

She advanced to the third round with a 4-3 win over 20th seed Margaryta Pesotska of Ukraine. Her Ukrainian opponent looked a little fatigued as Batra sealed a series of consecutive points to win the match 11-5.

Her opponent made a four-day trip to Chennai to compete in a mixed doubles match with Sharath Kamal, followed by a sparring session last week at the National camp in Sonepat. Sharath created some gaps and we had some offensive swings, but she was able to thread the attack further.

They worked together and optimized their positioning, with Sharath stationed a few feet away from the table and Manika standing on her pimpled rubber for a more effective push.

She considered the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in which she was eliminated in the first round, a test run for future games. After slipping to 76th in the world the following year, she began working with Sanmay Paranjape. In 2018, she ended her partnership with coach Sandeep Gupta, who coached her at the age of eight.

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