India’s table tennis star Manika Batra produced a dominant performance to defeat America’s Lily Zhang 3-0 to advance into the women’s singles pre-quarterfinals of the WTT Champions at Montpellier in France on Wednesday. Manika, who made history in Paris Olympics to become the first-ever Indian to reach the singles pre-quarterfinals, took less than 22 minutes to cruise to a 11-4, 11-8, 12-10 victory. The four-time Olympian Zhang, who also had a pre-quarterfinal finish in Paris, fought hard to come back in the third game but Manika’s consistency and precision saw her through.

The Indian won a total of 34 points, compared to Zhang’s 22 and she was especially strong on her opponent’s serve, winning 14 points off the Chinese-American.

Manika will face the winner of eighth seeded Romanian Bernadette Szocs and Orawan Paranang of Thailand.

Sreeja Akula is the second Indian in the main draw and she will take on Pan American champion Adriana Diaz of Puerto Rico later in the day.

Indian men’s team bowed out in the semifinals and settled for the bronze medal following a 0-3 loss to Chinese Taipei in the semifinal of the Asian Table Tennis Championships in Kazakhstan’s Astana, on Thursday. Indian women’s team had also won the bronze medal in the competition on Wednesday, which is the country’s first medal in the category since the beginning of the event in 1972. The legendary Achanta Sharath Kamal, world No 42, found the going tough against his world No 7 opponent Lin Yun-Ju, whose reflexes and precision made the contest tougher for the Indian to settle into his own game.

Sharath Kamal lost the contest 11-7, 12-10, 11-9.

In the following contest, Manav Thakkar lost to world No 22 Kao Cheng-Jui in a hard-fought contest whose outcome was 11-9, 8-11, 11-3, 13-11 in the favour of the Chinese Taipei’s player and a 2-0 lead.

In the third game, Harmeet Desai also had to deal with disappointment as the Indian paddler lost to Huang Yan-Cheng 6-11, 9-11, 7-11.

“Despite the loss, the Indian men’s team has much to be proud of. A bronze medal at the prestigious Asian Championships is no small feat, especially in the elite continental championships,” said the Table Tennis Federation of India in a release.

“The men’s and women’s squads showed incredible grit and determination, proving that India continues to rise in the ranks of international table tennis,” it added.

PBG Bengaluru Smashers vs Athlead Goa Challengers, Ultimate Table Tennis 2024, Live Updates: PBG Bengaluru Smashers will be squaring off against Athlead Goa Challengers in the first semi-final of the Ultimate Table Tennis 2024 on Thursday in Chennai. World No.25 Manika Batra will spearhead PBG Bengaluru Smashers’ challenge when they lock horns with defending champions Athlead Goa Challengers. As the tournament reaches its business end, the stakes are high, and no teams can afford any half measures in the crucial knockouts. 

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U Mumba TT vs Ahmedabad SG Pipers, Ultimate Table Tennis 2024, Live Updates: U Mumba are all set to face Ahmedabad SG Pipers in their next Ultimate Table Tennis league match on Tuesday in Chennai. Both the teams have recorded mirrored results from their opening two games, respectively. While U Mumba TT won their first tie 9-6 against Dabang Delhi TTC, they lost their second against Jaipur Patriots by the same margin. Similarly, Ahmedabad SG Pipers, who faced a 10-5 loss against Puneri Paltan Table Tennis on their UTT debut, beat reigning champions Athlead Goa Challengers by the exact score in the following tie.

Here are the Highlights of the Ultimate Table Tennis League match between U Mumba TT vs Ahmedabad SG Pipers, straight from Chennai: 

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