How did Sutirtha Mukherjee perform at Tokyo Olympics? A detailed look at the Indian table tennis star's performance at the previous Olympic Games

Sutirtha Mukherjee, an Indian table tennis player, competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics. She faced Portuguese veteran Fu Yu in the second round of the women's singles table tennis event and bowed after a straight-game defeat, with the scores reading 11-3, 11-3, 11-5, 11-5.

Contesting in her debut Olympics in Tokyo, Mukherjee had defeated the higher-ranked Linda Bergstrom. However, she failed to replicate that performance against the Portuguese table tennis player.

Sutirtha Mukherjee made some errors in the first game, resulting in Fu Yu taking an early lead. Mukherjee employed slower returns in the second game as well and eventually conceded it as well.

Despite the Indian tennis player's shots to establish more fierce attacks, Fu Yu controlled the pace and played some defensive shots, forcing Mukherjee to make more mistakes.

Sutirtha Mukherjee showed confidence at the start of the fourth game but Fu Yu stayed composed and focused. Remarkably, the match ended when Mukherjee's backhand smash hit the net, ultimately Fu Yu emerged victorious.

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Sutirtha Mukherjee's career in brief

Mukherjee, hailing from Naihati, West Bengal, has previously won various accolades throughout her career. She began winning medals for India in ITTF junior events in 2012.

The 28-year-old clinched the women's singles title at the Senior National Table Tennis Championships in India in 2018. She was also a member of the gold medal-winning Indian women's team at the 2018 Commonwealth Games held in Gold Coast.

Sutirtha has achieved significant success alongside Ayhika Mukherjee in women's doubles at various events. In 2022, the duo booked their spot in the women's doubles final at the WTT Contender Muscat.

Meanwhile, they clinched their first WTT title at the WTT Contender Tunis in 2023, defeating Miyuu Kihara and Miwa Harimoto in the final. Additionally, at the 2022 Asian Games, they registered a significant win over Chinese champions Chen Meng and Wang Yidi in the quarterfinals.