Paris Olympics 2024: Manika Batra-led India beat Romania 3-2 to enter quarterfinals of women's TT team event
By Sunita Iyer | First Published Aug 5, 2024, 4:22 PM ISTIndia secured a spot in the quarterfinals of the women’s table tennis team event at the Paris Olympics 2024, achieving a dramatic 3-2 victory over Romania on Monday.
In a thrilling encounter at the Paris Olympics 2024, India's women's table tennis team, led by star player Manika Batra, secured a memorable victory over higher-ranked Romania with a score of 3-2, advancing to the quarterfinals on Monday. The Indian team, seeded 11th in the competition, overcame the fourth-seeded Romanians in a closely contested match.
🇮🇳🙌 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮! The Indian women's table tennis team got their campaign off to a winning start, defeating 4th seed, Romania, in the round of 16.
🏓 After India took the lead in the first two games, Romania managed to come back strong… pic.twitter.com/cRCyG5kEyi
India advances to QFs!
🇮🇳India 3⃣ - 2⃣ Romania🇷🇴
Manika Batra seals the deal defeating Adina Diaconu in the decider (11-5, 11-9, 11-9).
Romania did fight back but India emerged winner in the 5-match thriller round. pic.twitter.com/dUZSqhUuBO
The tie began with a strong performance from the duo of Sreeja Akula and Archana Kamath, who won their doubles match against Adina Diaconu and Elizabeta Samara with scores of 11-9, 12-10, and 11-7. This victory set the tone for India's early lead.
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Manika Batra continued the momentum by defeating the higher-ranked Bernadette Szocs in straight games, winning 11-5, 11-7, and 11-7. With this, India established a commanding 2-0 lead.
| 🇮🇳1-0🇷🇴 (11-9, 12-10, 11-7)
Sreeja Akula & Archana Kamath give India a strong start in the RO16 tie against Romania.
Up next⏭️ Manika Batra vs Bernadette Szocs (WR10), who was part of the Women's Team in Tokyo that finished 5th pic.twitter.com/aNF6lUNc0W
🇮🇳India 2⃣ -0⃣ Romania🇷🇴
Manika Batra gets better of Bernadette Szocs 11-5, 11-7, 11-7.
Next up, Sreeja Akula will be looking to seal this round. https://t.co/LvxNTwdbxP pic.twitter.com/5rLXMPxhVX
However, Romania fought back as Sreeja Akula lost a hard-fought singles match to European champion Elizabeta Samara, despite winning the first game. The final scores were 11-8, 4-11, 11-7, 6-11, and 8-11. The tension escalated when Archana Kamath faced Bernadette Szocs in the next singles match. Despite a strong start, Kamath lost 1-3 (5-11, 11-8, 7-11, 9-11), leveling the tie at 2-2.
🇮🇳India 2⃣- 1⃣Romania🇷🇴
Romania fights back in match - 3, Elizabeta Samara defeats Sreeja in thrilling 5 sets (8-11, 11-4, 7-11, 11-6, 11-8)
Archana Kamath will be action next. https://t.co/GCPCwuURjY pic.twitter.com/wqHNxNSBlt
🇮🇳India 2⃣ - 2⃣ Romania🇷🇴
We are going into the decider!
Bernadette Szocs goes past Archana Kamath (11-5, 8-11, 11-7, 6-11, 11-9) and keeps Romania in the match.
All hopes on Manika Batra now. https://t.co/WjGr0fVyT1
In the decisive match, Manika Batra stepped up once again, delivering a stellar performance against Adina Diaconu. She won convincingly with scores of 11-5, 11-9, and 11-9, sealing India's victory and securing their place in the quarterfinals.
India will face either the USA or Germany in the next round. The same side of the draw also includes Japan, Poland, France, and Thailand.
THE WINNING MOMENT FOR INDIA. 🇮🇳
- Manika Batra, the star of Table Tennis! 🌟pic.twitter.com/MnbbTJ9WLT
Last week, both Manika Batra and Sreeja Akula made history by becoming the first Indian players to reach the round of 16 in the individual event at the Olympics. Despite their efforts, they could not advance further, losing to higher-ranked opponents.
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