Ahmedabad: India’s top-ranked women’s table tennis player Manika Batra bowed out of the Asian Cup Table Tennis Championship on Saturday after she lost to World No 6 Miu Hirano of China in the Challenger round.
Hirano won 11-7, 8-11, 11-8, 11-6 thus bringing an end to India’s campaign at the championship taking place in The Arena by Transstadia.
On day one, Batra had won all three of her round-robin matches to top Group D and ensure a spot in the Challenger round while men’s singles players Achanta Sharath Kamal and Harmeet Desai had failed to qualify for the Challenger round.
“She was a good player. I was confident ahead of the match but then I gave in to the pressure. I won the second game. But after that she began reading my game. I tried to change the flow of the match but it didn’t happen,” said Batra after the loss.
Batra stressed that she needed to improve her fitness and add new weapons to her game. “I have to work on my fitness obviously and also improve my forehand. I am too dependent on my backhand and have to make these changes. I have to make my forehand lethal. I have to include the forehand in my game,” said the 22-year-old, who will now play the Austria Open next week.