Manika Batra crashes out of Paris 2024 Olympics after losing to Miu Hirano in Round of 16

Indian table tennis ace Manika Batra saw her dreams of making it to the Paris 2024 Olympics quarter-finals end on Wednesday after losing to Miu Hirano of Japan in the Round of 16 match with a scoreline of 6-11, 9-11, 14-12, 8-11, 6-11.

Two-time Olympian Batra, who is ranked 24th in the ITTF world rankings, faced off against eight-seeded Hirano at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles. Batra had already made history by becoming the first Indian table tennis player to qualify for the Round of 16 of an Olympic Games after beating France’s Prithika Pavade.

However, in the closely fought contest between the two ace paddlers, Hirano eventually came out victorious in three of the four games played after showing some excellent play in employing spin to counter the threat from Manika Batra, who enjoyed a significant height advantage over her at 5’11”.

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Manika Batra loses against Miu Hirano despite a third-game comeback

After a start consisting of a couple of unenforced errors, Manika Batra used her height advantage to go neck-to-neck against Miu Hirano. However, the Japanese paddler fought back, winning the first set 11-6.

With both players focusing on accuracy, 24-year-old Hirano faced a tougher challenge from Batra in the second game, who used her wide reach to earn a good lead over her opponent. Hirano, however, used her intelligence to close the gap at 6-6. Hirano used a range of unpredictable shots to win the closely fought set with a margin of 11-9.

The third game started with a significant lead for Manika Batra, with the Indian paddler leading 7-2 at one point. However, Hirano tried to claw back into the set with a period of aggressive play between the two, closing the gap at 9-9. The Japanese, as in the last two sets, overtook Batra, but the Indian paddler denied her opponent a chance to win the set on three separate occasions.

The Indian table tennis ace showed nerves of steel to win the third game 14-12, setting up the chance of making a comeback in the match.

The fourth game was another close battle between the two players, but Miu Hirano took an early lead in the crucial game. Hirano held the upper hand against Batra, who has never won more than one game in a single match against Hirano.

Batra showed incredible perseverance to close the gap to 6-6, but Hirano’s trick shots proved too much for the Commonwealth Games gold medalist to handle. Hirano took the fourth game 11-8 to set up a 3:1 lead.

Hirano continued her strong gameplay in the fifth game as well, taking an attacking approach in what was a must-win game for her opponent. She never let her early lead slip and, despite a late pushback by Manika Batra, comfortably won the game by a margin of 11-6.