WTT Standout Contender Doha 2022 | Manika Batra in women's singles second round, Sathiyan and Sharath Kamal win too

WTT Standout Contender Doha 2022 | Manika Batra in women's singles second round, Sathiyan and Sharath Kamal win too

no photo

A file image of Manika Batra.

|

(Twitter)

In her first-round women's singles match at the WTT Standout Contender Doha 2022 on Sunday, Manika Batra survived a difficult five-setter. Batra, placed 48th in the world, upset China's 34th-ranked Qian Tianyi, 3-2 (11-9, 4-11, 11-9, 6-11, 11-9), in an evenly contested encounter.

In the round of 32, Batra, the sole Indian in the women's singles, will meet Xiaona Shan of Germany. Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Sharath Kamal, both men's singles paddlers from India, won their respective first matches. Sharath Kamal beat Emmanuel Lebesson of France 3-1, while G Sathiyan defeated Alvaro Robles of Spain 3-0 (12-10, 11-4, 11-4).

Sharath Kamal and Manav Thakkar had earlier lost their first men's doubles match 3-1 (6-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-5) to Alvaro Roubles and Ovidiu Ionescu of Spain and Romania. Sanil Shetty and Amalraj Anthony, the second Indian men's doubles combination, were also eliminated in the first round, falling 3-0 (11-3, 11-8, 11-8) against Germany's Dang Qiu and Benedikt Duda.

Manika Batra and Archana Kamath will participate in the women's doubles later. The Indian combo will face Dora Madarasz and Georgina Pota of Hungary in their opening encounter. Manika Batra and G Sathiyan will partner up in the mixed doubles.

India has a bright chance to do well in the doubles section where the teams are ranked inside the top-10 in the world.

Get updates! Follow us on

Open all