Manika, Manav cruise to second round, mixed day for India at World Table Tennis C'ships

Star Indian table tennis player Manika Batra cruised to the second round of the World Championships with a dominant straight-game win while Manav Thakkar also made a confident start to his singles campaign here on Sunday. It was a mixed day for India as several others, including G Sathiyan crashed out of the tournament. Seeded 22nd, Manika registered a commanding 4-0 (11-5, 11-6, 11-8, 11-2) victory over Nigeria's Fatima Bello in a women's singles fixture that lasted just 24 minutes.

Next up, Manika Batra will be up against Korea's Park Gahyeon in the round of 64. India's top-ranked male singles player, Thakkar, also began in style, defeating New Zealand's Timothy Choi 4-1 (11-3, 11-8, 6-11, 11-7, 14-12) in his men's singles opening round. However, it was a forgettable debut for 18-year-old Ankur Bhattacharjee, who exited in the first round after a 1-4 (11-4, 7-11, 9-11, 10-12, 8-11) defeat to Hong Kong’s Lam Siu Hang in his men's singles outing.

The seasoned Sathiyan endured a tough outing as well, bowing out with a straight-game defeat to France's Thibault Poret, who won 4-0 (11-5, 11-6, 11-7, 11-6). In doubles action, the ninth-seeded pair of Manush Shah and Diya Chitale made a strong start, registering a comprehensive 3-0 (11-2, 11-7, 11-6) win over Algeria's Mehdi Bouloussa and Malissa Nasri.

But it was disappointment for the men's doubles duo of Harmeet Desai and G Sathiyan who bowed out in the opening round, losing 1-3 (9-11, 12-10, 14-16, 10-12) to Austria's Maciej Kolodziejczyk and Moldova’s Vladislav Ursu. Desai also faced heartbreak in the mixed doubles, partnering Yashaswini Ghorpade. The 14th-seeded Indian pair failed to capitalise on a 2-0 lead and also squandered three match points to lose 2-3 (11-8, 11-6, 10-12, 8-11, 10-12) to France's Thibault Poret and Leana Hochart. PTI