Paris Olympics 2024: Manika Batra shines in India's steller table tennis triumph over Romania in women's team event

Manika Batra and Sreeja Akula also reached the Round of 16 in the women’s singles event at the Paris Olympics 2024.

The Indian women’s table tennis team has defeated Romania 3-2 to reach the quarter-finals of the event at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The pair of Sreeja Akula and Archana Kamath started the first match against Romania’s Adina Diaconu and Elizabeta Samara. Akula and Kamath won the first game comfortably and in the second, they saved a game point to double their lead.

With another strong display of their on-table prowess, the Indian duo sealed the match 3-0, as the right-left combination of Diaconu and Samara failed to give Romania an early lead. In the second match, Manika Batra faced Bernadette Szocs. The Romanian paddler took an early lead over Batra in the first game 2-5. However, the former Indian No. 1 took nine consecutive points to win 11-5.

Exhibiting similar consistency in the later games, she won the match 11-5, 11-7, 11-7 to give India a 2-0 lead over Romania. In the third match, Sreeja Akula was up against Elizabeta Samara and she also had a golden opportunity to seal the victory for the nation in straight matches.

ALSO READ: Indian table tennis coach Massiomo Constantini confident paddlers will spring big surprise at Paris Olympics 2024

Akula got off to an aggressive start as she sealed the first game 11-8. However, she fell behind in the second game by 4-11 due to a flurry of errors. A decent topspin forehand helped the India No. 1 seal the third game 11-7, but much like the second game, he started facing troubles in the fourth game.

After a battle of almost 40 minutes, Sreeja Akula lost the third match of the Round of 16 fixture between India and Romania. Archana Kamath locked horns against Bernadette Szocs in the fourth match, which was again a do-or-die situation for Romania. Szocs cruised over Kamath in the first game, 5-11. However, the 24-year-old returned to win the second game 11-8 against the table tennis veteran.

However, with the help of wins in two straight games, Bernadette Szocs tied the match 2-2 for Romania. Again, it was Manika Batra standing between a historic win and a first round exit for the Indian women’s table tennis team. Batra took on Adina Diaconu in the last match.

With a loud grunt, the Indian paddler won the first game with a resounding score of 11-5. Continuing the form, Manika Batra won the second game 11-9 against Diaconu. With a series of stellar backhands, Batra secured a spot for India in the women’s team event quarter-finals at the 2024 Paris Olympics in straight games, 11-5, 11-9, 11-9. In the quarter-finals, the Indian team will face either Germany or the United States.

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram