Budapest: India’s table tennis star Manika Batra and compatriots Archana Kamath and Sreeja Akula recorded tough victories to enter the round of 16 at the WTT Contender here Tuesday. All Indian players were stretched to the limit and won their matches in the fifth and deciding game. However, World No. 134 Archana Kamath’s win was the most creditable as she stunned a much higher-ranked player.
The 60th-ranked, Batra defeated 115-ranked Sabine Winter of Germany 7-11, 11-7, 11-6, 13-15, 11-5. Kamath on the other hand shocked World No. 58th Yana Noskova of Russia 11-8, 11-9, 6-11, 5-11, 11-9 in a gruelling affair.
Qualifier Sreeja Akula, ranked 150th, played her heart out against Swedish defender Linda Bergstorm, ranked 78th, to win 11-8, 6-11, 14-12, 2-11, 11-7.
India’s Reeth Tennison, however, went down fighting against Hungary’s Szandra Pergel in her round of 32 match. It was a commendable effort from the 584th-ranked Indian against her 76th-ranked opponent after qualifying for the main draw.
G Sathiyan, who had lost his opening match at the Tokyo Olympics, will also be in action later in the day alongside Harmeet Desai and Manav Thakkar.