Manika defeated Lee Zion of South Korea 4-1 comfortable.
Table Tennis
New Delhi: Buoyant after their credible ninth-place finish in the team event of the ongoing World Junior Championships, Indian paddlers Manika Batra and Ayhika Mukherjee entered the girls' singles pre-quarters in Morocco.
They await their Japanese and Croatian opponents in the last 16 stage, the matches of which are slated for later this evening. In the main draw which began this morning, Manika defeated Lee Zion of South Korea 4-1 (11-7, 6-11, 12-10, 12-10, 11-7) comfortable, despite being stretched in two games after the Korean had levelled the score at 1-1.
In the decider, Manika shut out the Korean's challenge with ease, attacking on both flanks. Manika, who is ranked 36 in the world, will now take on Japanese Ito Mima, ranked 19 rungs below, in her next round.
But what drew the attention of the spectators and players alike was the way Ayhika Mukherjee upset third-seed Japanese Kato Miyo.
The Indian won 4-2 (6-11, 11-6, 5-11, 11-0, 11-7, 11-8) despite trailing 1-2 after three games. However, the credit must go to the Indian for finishing clinically, including winning a love game against world's eighth ranked player in the fourth set which paved her way forward.
Once she tied the score, Ayhika was both attacking and blocking well with equal felicity to surprise her rival and everyone else in the Japanese camp. The Indian will now take Croat Rakovaclea, whom Ayhika had beaten in the team even earlier.
( Source : PTI )
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