WTT Contender Doha 2024 Day 3 results: Ayhika and Sutirtha Mukherjee crash out in the semifinals, Manika Batra loses in the quarters

Day 3 of the main draw of the Doha Contender 2024 brought an end to India’s campaign. The Lusail Sports Arena in Doha, Qatar, witnessed some thrilling and some rather one-sided quarterfinal and semifinal affairs on Friday, January 19.

Among the last-standing Indian paddlers, Manika Batra and the women's doubles duo of Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee faced the top seeds in their respective matches and both found themselves on the wrong side of the results.

A closer look at the results of the Indian paddlers at the Doha Contender 2024

In the women's singles category, Manika Batra, who played the last match of the day against France's Audrey Zarif on Thursday, January 18, claimed a thrilling four-set victory.

However, scheduled to play the opening encounter on Friday, the Commonwealth Games gold medalist couldn't sustain her momentum. She faced the top seed from South Korea, Shin Yubin. Despite the match's high quality, Batra succumbed to Yubin in a 3-0 defeat with a final scoreline of 12-10, 11-8, 11-6.

The women's doubles semifinal saw India’s Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee up against Batra’s singles opponent from earlier in the day, Shin Yubin and her partner Jeon Jihee. The nail-biting encounter unfolded over five sets, with the Indian duo securing the first two sets with scores of 11-9 and 11-4, respectively.

However, with the Indians on the brink of victory, the top-seeded Koreans kept their composure and staged a remarkable comeback, winning the third and fourth sets with scores of 11-7 and 11-5.

In the decisive final set, the Korean pair demonstrated their class, securing victory with identical scores as the previous set, concluding the match with a 9-11, 4-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-5 scoreline in their favor.

The other notable results from the Indian contingent were seen in the form of Achanta Sharath Kamal, who went down in a thrilling five-set battle against France’s Simon Gauzy in the pre-quarterfinal; the mixed doubles of Diya Chitale and Manush Shah, who went down in the quarterfinal; and Manika Batra and her partner Archana Kamath, who also lost in the quarterfinals of the women’s doubles event.

The Indian paddlers will be seen in action next in their home event, the USD 250,000 WTT Star Contender Goa 2024, taking place at the Peddem Indoor Stadium in Goa, India, from Tuesday, January 23, to Sunday, January 28.