WTT Champions Montpellier: Manika Batra's Historic Run Ends in Quarter-Final Defeat

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Indian paddler Manika Batra's historic run in the World Table Tennis (WTT) Champions Montpellier 2024 ended on Saturday (October 26) following a defeat in the quarter-final round at Sud de France Arena in Montpellier, France.

Batra had made history at the WTT Montpellier 2024, becoming the first Indian player to make it to the top eight of a WTT Champions tournament. However, she lost 0-3 (8-11, 8-11, 10-12) to China's Qian Tianyi in the last eight match that lasted 25 minutes.

Manika put up a fight in all three games, but eventually lost the contest against the Chinese paddler, who will now head to the semi-finals to face Japan's third seed Miwa Harimoto on Sunday (October 27). If she progresses, then Tianyi will also play the final on Sunday.

WTT Champions was launched two years back and is a series of premier table tennis tournaments featuring the world's top 32 male and female players with massive prize money and boost in ranking points.

Manika, the world number 30 ranked paddler, had reached the quarterfinals by stunning world number 14 Bernadette Szocs of Romania by a scoreline of 3-1 (11-9, 6-11, 13-11, 11-9) on Friday (October 25).

The 29-year-old had opened her campaign with a win over USA's Lily Zhang by 3-0 (11-4, 11-8, 12-10) and followed it with a 29-minute win over eighth-seeded Szocs. Manika had also defeated Szocs during India's 3-2 win over Romania in the women's team table tennis event first round at the Paris Olympics this year.

However, the world number 21 Tianyi was a difficult opponent for Manika to overcome. She had come into the match with a shocking win over compatriot Yidi, the top seed and world No. 4, 3-0 (11-7, 11-9, 13-11) in the round of 16.

Meanwhile, Manika's compatriot Sreeja Akula, the top-ranked women's singles player at world number 25, faced a first-round exit after a loss to world number 13 Adriana Diaz of Puerto Rico by 3-2 (6-11, 11-7, 11-1, 8-11, 11-8). There were no Indians in the men's singles competition at the WTT Champions Montpellier 2024.