Busan, Feb 21 (IANS) The Indian women’s team lost to Chinese Taipei in the pre-quarterfinals of the World Table Tennis Team Championships, here on Wednesday, which prevented them from earning a direct entry to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
After reaching the Championships quarterfinals, the Chinese Taipei team secured their place at the Games. Playing for the second time today, Manika Batra overcame Chen Szu-Yu in a thrilling five-game (11-8,8-11,4-11,11-9,11-9) match that saw India, who upset Italy 3-0 in the Round of 32, win just one game against Chinese Taipei.
Chinese Taipei leveled the match, nevertheless, as the national women’s team was unable to build on a 1-0 advantage after Sreeja Akula lost against Cheng I-Ching in three straight games (6-11,9-11,5-11).
After that, Li Yu-Jhun defeated Ayhika Mukherjee 12-10, 15-13, 9-11, and 11-2 to increase Chinese Taipei’s score to 2-1. Playing the fourth round of the tie against Cheng I-Ching, Batra was able to square the score in the second game but was unable to force a decider, losing 10-12,11-5,9-11,5-11.
However, India earned vital ranking points by defeating Italy in the Round of 32 and Hungary, Spain, and Uzbekistan in the group stage. By the end of February, India should be able to secure a spot in the Olympics in Paris thanks to the ranking points.
–IANS
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