World Singles Olympic Qualification: India paddler Manika Batra loses in semis

Manika Batra. Pic/AFP

Manika Batra's run at the World Singles Olympic Qualification Tournament came to an end after she suffered a 1-4 defeat to Monaco's Xiaoxin Yang in the women's singles knockout stage-I semi-final match here on Monday.

Despite losing the first two games, world number 63 Batra held her nerve and attempted a comeback by winning the third game. However, her higher-ranked opponent Yang, world number 44, didn't let the momentum slip and wrapped up the tie 11-9, 11-4, 8-11, 11-4, 11-9.

In the quarter-finals played late on Sunday, Batra thrashed Uzbekistan's Rimma Gufranova 12-10, 11-3, 11-6, 11-4. The other Indian in the fray, Sutirtha Mukherjee lost to Russian Polina Mikhailova 12-10, 7-11, 8-11, 11-8, 10-12, 5-11 in a thrilling match.

Sharath Kamal and Gnanasekaran Sathiyan had made exits after suffering losses in their respective men's singles second round matches on Sunday. The Indian paddlers will now shift their focus to Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament, which is scheduled from March 18-20 in Doha.

Sharath and Sathiyan will be in action in the men's singles while Batra and Mukherjee will play in the women's singles. In the mixed doubles category, Sharath and Batra will look to seal an Olympic berth.

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