It was a disappointing day for the Indian women’s table tennis squad in the Olympics as Indian hopes in the singles competition ended in the opening round itself on Saturday. Daniel Dodean Monteiro of Romania beat India’s Mouma Das 11-2 11-7 11-7 11-3 in four rounds.
Das, ranked 150th in the world, failed to put up a fight against her 58th-ranked opponent. Das had qualified for her second Olympics after making the debut in Athens 12 years ago.
Later, Olympic debutant Manika Batra also lost to 60th-ranked Katarzyna Franc-Grzybowska of Poland. Batra put a much better fight than Das but ultimately lost 10-12 11-6 14-12 8-11 11-4 14-12 to her Polish opponent in six rounds.