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Table Tennis: Manika Batra stuns World No. 26; Sathiyan too wins at Hungarian Open
PTI
Last Updated IST
Manika Batra of India in action. (Reuters Photo)
Manika Batra of India in action. (Reuters Photo)

Commonwealth Games gold medallist Manika Batra notched up a stunning win over World No. 26 Chen Szu-Yu to enter the pre-quarterfinals of the 2020 ITTF World Tour Hungarian Open here.

India No. 1 Gnanasekaran Sathiyan too made it to the pre-quarter-finals with a 4-0 (11-6, 11-6, 11-9, 11-2) drubbing of World No. 61 Noshad Alamiyan of Iran in men's singles.

The 24-year-old Manika, who is placed at 67th in the ITTF world rankings, dug deep and held her nerves to edge out Chen 4-3 (9-11, 4-11, 7-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-7, 14-12) in a dramatic match at the Olympic Hall here.

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In a resilient display, the Indian qualifier fought back after being three games down and facing a match point in the fourth to win the next four games, leaving her much-fancied 11th seeded Chinese Taipei opponent shell-shocked.

Batra faces World No. 11 Hirano Miu next in her quest for a quarter-final berth.

World No. 30 Sathiyan, who was simply brilliant against Alamiyan, will take on World No. 5 Harimoto Tomokazu of Japan in his round of 16 match.

Sathiyan will also be in contention for a semi-final berth in men's doubles as he and his partner Achanta Sharath Kamal faces Hungary's World No. 132 Adam Szudi and World No. 142 Nandor Ecseki in the quarter-finals.

Manika and Sharath Kamal, meanwhile, have got a walkover into the mixed doubles semi-finals and they will now take on the German combination of Patrick Franziska and Petrissa Solja.

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(Published 21 February 2020, 13:50 IST)