Paris Olympics: Manika Batra reaches Round of 32; Sharath Kamal loses to Slovenian paddler (ld)

Paris, July 28 (IANS) India had a mixed day in the Olympic Games table tennis competition on Sunday with Manika Batra and Sreeja Akula advancing to the next round in women's singles while top male paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal went down in the opening round of men's singles. Manika, India's best bet in women's singles, opened her campaign with a comfortable 4-1 (11-8, 12-10, 11-9, 9-11, 11-5) defeat of Great Britain’s Anna Hursey in a Round of 64 clash on Sunday.

The paddler, ranked 28th in the World, was unstoppable in the first three games, winning 11-8, 12-10, 11-9 to start the match on a strong note. Hursey’s late charge saw her winning the fourth game 9-11. Despite the hiccup, Manika remained composed to seal a 4-1 victory by winning the fifth game 11-5 to cap off her impressive outing.

However, India suffered a setback as veteran paddler and the contingent's flag-bearer, Sharath Kamal lost to Deni Kozul of Slovenia 2-4 (12-10, 9-11, 6-11, 7-11, 11-8, 10-12) in a men’s singles Round of 64 clash that lasted 53 minutes.

The 42-year-old Sharath is participating in his fifth Olympics for the country and is ranked 40th in the World, 82 spots ahead of Kozul.

In the women's singles, 2022 Commonwealth Games medallist Sreeja Akula also progressed to the Round of 32 with a 4-0 win earlier in the day. Sreeja defeated Swedish opponent Christina Kallberg 11-4, 11-9, 11-7, 11-8 in the women's singles Round of 64

Harmeet Desai will be in action against France’s Felix Lebrun in the Round of 64 later in the day after winning his qualification match against Jordan's Zaid Abo Yaman on Saturday.

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