Indian table tennis campaign ends in Singapore Smash

Indias’ campaign in the first-ever Smash 2000 table tennis tournament, being held in Singapore, came to an end on Tuesday. The Indian women's doubles pair of Manika Batra and Archana Kamath lost their quarter-final match to second-seeded Japanese pair Hina Hayata and Mima Ito.

The Japanese pair needed only 25 minutes to dispose of Manika and Archana 11-7, 11-4, 11-8 and enter the semi-finals.

The Indian women's doubles pair were the last of India's hopes after Ayhika Mukherjee, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Achanta Sharath Kamal bit the dust in every category they competed in.

Excellent display of table tennis from Japanese duo

Ranked sixth in doubles, Manika and Archana struggled against the left-right Japanese onslaught and tackling left-hander Hayata’s powerful spins turned out to be a big ask.

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There was no respite for the Indian table tennis pair from the right-hander Ito either. Ito, with superb service variations, put them in the dock.

Though the Japanese conceded seven points in the first game, they brought it down drastically in the second when the Indian duo not only made several unforced errors but failed time and again to capitalize on their serve.

In the third game, Manika and Archana found themselves trailing 3-5 and then 4-5 and that was the closest they managed to reach the Japanese. Hayata and Ito kept the scoreboard ticking and wrapped it up 11-8.

Even India's top-ranked players Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Achanta Sharath Kamal couldn't make huge inroads.

Both players lost in their respective singles and failed to come to terms with the World No. 2 South Korean pair of Lim Jong-hoon and Jong Woo-Jin, losing 7-11, 7-11, 8-11 in the pre-quarterfinals of the men’s doubles.

The Indian mixed doubles pair of Sathiyan and Manika Batra also lost in the quarterfinals to the top-seeded mixed pair of Cheng-I-Ching and Lin Yun-Ju of Taipei.

The Indian table tennis players face their next challenge in the WTT Feeder Doha tournament.