Manika Batra fails to secure Tokyo Olympic berth at World Qualifiers

Star Indian paddler Manika Batra surrendered to Xiaoxin Yang 9-11, 4-11, 11-8, 4-11, 9-11 in the Knockout Stage 1 semifinals of the World Singles Qualification tournament in Doha on Monday. With this loss, the Indian campaign has come to an end as G Sathiyan, Achanta Sharath Kamal and Sutirtha Mukherjee bowed out earlier on Sunday.

Batra crumbled under pressure in her match against Yang as the World No. 44 went on to set up a summit clash with Maria Xiao of Spain. The latter beat Yana Noskova 4-2 in the other semifinal.

Having beaten Rimma Gufranova and Maria Yovkova on Sunday, Manika Batra came into her face-off with Yang with a lot of confidence. That was evident in her first game when Batra stretched Yang before losing narrowly.

Things went downhill for the World No. 63 Batra as Yang completely outplayed her Indian opponent. There was still a glimmer of hope when Manika Batra outshone her opponent in the third game. But a flurry of errors in the next two games cost the Indian dearly, as she bowed out of the competition.

After a long drawn 11 month break, very happy to come back & play intl. tournaments of this level. Didn’t know what to expect when the tournaments started but glad to maintain the level from where I left off. Half done here as World Oly and Asian Oly Qualifications coming up. pic.twitter.com/Vpuz8h0bbi

— Sharath Kamal OLY (@sharathkamal1) March 11, 2021

Earlier, on Sunday, Sathiyan and Kamal exited the tournament, losing their respective pre-quarterfinal encounters. Sutirtha Mukherjee, who started her campaign with a win, also faltered in the Round of 16.

Not the end of the road for Manika Batra & Co.

The Indians will now have a break for a couple of days before they return to action in the Asian Qualifiers in Doha, starting March 18. Sathiyan and Kamal will be the highest-ranked Asians in men's singles and the favorites to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. Batra and Mukherjee, meanwhile, have their task cut out in their bid to secure a Tokyo Olympic berth.

Kamal and Sathiyan are currently ranked 32nd and 37th respectively while Batra is in 63rd position with Mukherjee at 95th.

The draws of the Asian Qualifiers will be announced on March 17. Kamal and Batra can make the Tokyo Olympics cut through the mixed doubles event as well.