WTT Star Contender Goa 2024 Day 2 results: Manika Batra, Sreeja Akula, and Archana Kamath through to the pre-quarterfinals

The pre-quarterfinals and quarterfinals of the singles and doubles categories of the WTT Star Contender Goa 2024 were underway at the Peddem Indoor Stadium in Goa, India, on Friday, January 26.

It was another mixed day for the Indian paddlers, with a mixture of triumphs and disappointments. Only the women’s singles players managed to win their matches and book their place in the last sixteen. Manika Batra, Sreeja Akula, and Archana Kamath all showcased their brilliance, beating Suh Hyo Won, Hana Goda, and Jieni Shao, respectively.

A closer look at the day 2 results of the WTT Star Contender Goa 2024

India's only remaining men's singles representative, Snehit Suravajjula, ended his campaign at the WTT Star Contender Goa 2024 after a challenging match against Germany's Dimitrij Ovtcharov. Snehit went down 6-11, 3-11, 6-11, ending India's hopes in the men's singles category.

India’s only positive news was from the women’s singles category. The nation's most experienced women’s singles paddler, Manika Batra, who received a bye in the first round, took on Suh Hyo-won in her pre-quarterfinals encounter.

The 28-year-old beat her opponent from South Korea 11-6, 9-11, 11-9, 11-7 to book her place in the pre-quarterfinals. Meanwhile, Archana Kamath faced off against Portugal’s Shao Jieni. The youngster beat her opponent in a thrilling five-set battle, 9-11, 11-5, 11-5, 8-11, 11-5.

Sreeja Akula, who recently won the WTT Feeder Corpus Christi 2024, beat Egypt’s Hana Goda 11-8, 11-6, 14-12 to also book her place in the last sixteen. Yashaswini Ghorpade was the only women’s singles paddler to face defeat today after going down to Monaco’s Xiaoxin Yang 1-11, 5-11, 5-11.

In the men's doubles event, the in-form Indian pair of Manush Shah and Manav Thakkar reached yet another quarterfinal, but the duo faced defeat against Chinese Taipei's Kao Cheng-Jui and Chuang Chih-Yuan with a scoreline of 7-11, 11-7, 8-11, 9-11.

Like the men’s doubles category, the women’s doubles paddlers also experienced a disappointing end to their tournament. Taneesha Kotecha and Sayali Wani lost to South Korea’s Jeon Ji-hee and Shin Yu-bin 2-11, 10-12, 2-11 while Sreeja Akula and Diya Chitale went down to Chinese Taipei’s Li Yu-Jhun and Cheng I-Ching 9-11, 8-11, 9-11

The mixed doubles category also witnessed some tough battles for the Indian pairs. However, both of India’s pairs still in contention were on the losing end of their respective encounters. Manush Shah and Diya Chitale faced Spain's Alvaro Robles and Maria Xiao, ultimately losing 5-11, 11-6, 14-12, 8-11, 6-11, while Manav Thakkar and Archana Kamath lost against Hong Kong's Doo Hoi Kem and Wong Chun Ting 2-11, 11-8, 6-11, 5-11.

Archana Kamath, Manika Batra, and Sreeja Akula are set to take on Jeon Ji-hee, Xiaoxin Yang, and Doo Hoi Kem, respectively, in the pre-quarterfinal matches of the WTT Star Contender Goa 2024 on Saturday, January 27.