Lagatar24 desk
New Delhi, Nov 19: Manika Batra, a prominent Indian table tennis player, became the first female Indian paddler to take home a medal at the present ITTF-ATTU Asian Cup competition on Saturday after winning the bronze medal. Hina Hayata, the three-time Asian champion and world no. 6, was defeated by her in the bronze medal match by a score of 4-2. 11-6, 6-11, 11-7, 12-10, 4-11, 11-2 were the scores when Batra defeated her opponent.
She had earlier suffered a 2-4 defeat to Mima Ito in the semifinal round (8-11, 11-7, 7-11, 6-11, 11-8, 7-11). She competed in the bronze medal match and won the medal despite losing.
The World No 7 Chen Xingtong of China was defeated by Batra on Thursday in the opening round of the ongoing Asian Cup 2022 competition in Bangkok, Thailand, thanks to a spectacular performance from the Indian player.
Batra, ranked 44th in the world, upset the fourth-seeded table tennis player 4-3 in a match that took place at the Huamark Indoor Stadium (8-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-6, 9-11, 8-11, 11-9).
As a result, she was able to advance to the quarterfinal. She won the quarterfinal match against Taiwanese opponent Chen Szu-Yu by a score of 4-3 (6-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-7, 8-11, 9-11, 11-9) in order to advance to the semifinal.
The Huamark Indoor Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand is the site of the current Asian Cup, which runs from November 17 to November 19.