India at Olympics: Manika Batra Moves into Second Round

Manika Batra, a star Indian paddler, advanced to the second round of the women's singles competition in Tokyo after defeating Great Britain's Tin-Tin Ho 4-0 (11-7, 11-6, 12-10, 11-9) on Saturday.

Earlier in the day, the mixed doubles performance with partner Achanta Sharath Kamal was disappointing. Lin Yun Ju and Cheng I Ching, the World No. 1 duo, blew away Batra and Sharath in the Round of 16 match.

From the first shot, Tin-Tin Ho, the first British singles player to qualify for the Olympics in 25 years, was plainly under pressure. Manika Batra took advantage of her angles and forced errors from the 22-year-old to win the first game, 11-7.

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Tin-Tin Ho improved her performance in the third game after a brief conversation with her coach during the break and pushed Manika Batra harder.

However, Batra was composed and saved the game. In the second round, Batra will play against Margaryta Pesotska of Ukraine, a former European Championships silver medalist.