Table Tennis at Tokyo Olympics: Manika Batra and Sharath Kamal Lose in a Disappointing Opening Match Against Chinese Taipei


Table Tennis at Tokyo Olympics: Manika Batra and Sharath Kamal Lose in a Disappointing Opening Match Against Chinese Taipei

table tennis at Tokyo Olympics

India started off their events in table tennis at Tokyo Olympics with a mixed doubles match against Chinese Taipei. The Indian duo of Manika Batra and Sharath Kamal played their first match against Lin Yun Ju and Cheng I Ching. The match lasted for about 27 minutes.

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Manika is the current India number 1, and is ranked 63rd in the world and Kamal is currently ranked 32nd in the world by ITTF. Cheng on the other hand is currently the world no. 8, with a career high ranking of no. 5 while Lin is ranked 6th in the world, giving the Chinese Taipei duo an advantage over the Indian paddlers.

While the Indian duo was quick to start their campaign with a 5-2 lead in game 1, it quickly dissipated as the Chinese Taipei pair took the first game 11-8 in 6 minutes. Ju and Ching were quick to take the second set as well, with a score of 11-6.

Table Tennis at Tokyo Olympics: Manika and Sharath fail to make a mark against Lin and Cheng

Manika Batra and Sharath Kamal, Teble tennis at Tokyo Olympics
Manika Batra and Sharath Kamal, Teble tennis at Tokyo Olympics

The Indian duo fought back in the third game, and while the game lasted seven minutes, the third set went to the Lin and Cheng 11-5. The Chinese Taipei pair demolished Manika and Sharath in the fourth game, winning 11-4 in just 4 minutes. This means that India’s Mixed Doubles Campaign in Table Tennis at Tokyo Olympics came to crashing halt.

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The longest rally in the match lasted 10 strokes, while the average rally of the games was around 4 strokes. The Indians failed to score points on their own serves, while Lin and Cheng scored 20 points on their own serves. While the Chinese Taipei were slow to start off their campaign, they soon made up for deficit and went on to win by a great margin.

Manika Batra is scheduled to have a singles match soon with Great Britain’s Tin-Tin Ho, where she is expected to win. Kamal will be playing directly in the second round in the men’s singles table tennis at the Tokyo Olympics, and his match up is yet to be decided.

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