Harmeet Desai, Yashaswini Ghorpade, Manika Batra Suffer Shock Exits at National Ranking TT Championships

Fourth seed Harmeet Desai and second seed Yashaswini Ghorpade endured disappointing outings at the second National Ranking Table Tennis Championships, suffering unexpected defeats at the Tau Devi Lal Indoor Hall on Monday.

Former World No. 21 Manika Batra also bowed out after losing her Round of 32 encounter, making it a difficult day for several prominent names in the women's singles competition.

Harmeet's campaign ended much earlier than anticipated as he was beaten 1-3 by qualifier Rusikesh Jagtap in the men's singles Round of 128. After receiving a bye in the opening round, the fourth seed failed to find the consistency required to overcome his unseeded opponent, going down 9-11, 11-1, 9-11, 10-12.

Yashaswini faced a similarly disappointing exit in the women's singles Round of 32. The second seed fought hard against Tamil Nadu's Ananya Muralidharan but eventually lost 2-3 in a closely fought contest. After dropping the opening game 11-13, Yashaswini fought back to take the next two games 12-10 and 11-7. However, Ananya responded emphatically, winning the fourth 11-1 before sealing the match with an 11-7 victory in the decider.

Syndrela Das, Diya Chitale Advance

While several seeded players struggled, top seed Syndrela Das produced a commanding performance to progress to the next round. She defeated Sreeja Akula 11-9, 11-7, 11-6 in their Round of 32 encounter, maintaining control throughout the match.

Third seed Diya Chitale also secured a convincing victory, overcoming Manika Batra in straight games, 11-2, 12-10, 12-10.

Manika offered greater resistance in the second game, recovering from an early deficit to establish an 10-8 lead. However, Diya's decision to raise her attacking intensity after a timeout proved decisive. She overturned the deficit to take the game and establish a two-game advantage.

Diya continued to dictate the rallies in the third game, preventing Manika from mounting a comeback and completing the win in straight games.

Manika, Sreeja Entered Main Draw Without Seeding

The exits of Manika and Sreeja were notable given their previous standing on the international circuit. Both players have been ranked inside the world's top 25, but they entered the women's singles main draw without seeding and had to negotiate the group qualification stage.

Their domestic ranking positions also presented different challenges. Sreeja began the competition with 70 national ranking points, while Manika entered without any points, leaving both players with little room for error in a competitive field.

Representing PSPB, Manika had initially navigated her opening matches successfully. She overcame Canara Bank's Maria Rony 16-14, 11-2, 9-11, 11-7 after surviving a tense opening game and conceding the third.

She subsequently recovered from losing the first game against FCI's N.B.S. Thanuja to register a 6-11, 11-5, 11-6, 12-10 victory, securing her place in the Round of 32.

However, her campaign ended against Diya, who had entered the contest in good form after defeating Delhi's Garima Goel 11-4, 11-8, 11-7 following a first-round bye.

With Harmeet, Yashaswini and Manika among the notable casualties, Monday's action underlined the unpredictable nature of the national ranking circuit, where even established players can face early setbacks against determined opponents.