Budapest, Feb 21: Commonwealth Games gold medallist Manika Batra showed nerves of steel to upset World No. 26 Chen Szu-Yu as India No. 1 Gnanasekaran Sathiyan too made a winning start to reach the pre-quarter finals of the 2020 ITTF World Tour Hungarian Open held at the Olympic Hall.
The 24-year-old stole the show with her resilient display on Thursday. Being three games down could not deter her nor could the fact that she was facing a match point in the fourth. The Indian qualifier, who is placed at 67th in the current ITTF world rankings, held her nerve to win the next four games in spectacular fashion, leaving her much-fancied 11th seeded Chinese Taipei opponent shellshocked.
The seventh game, especially, tested the grit and stamina of both but the Delhi paddler”s composure under pressure helped her complete the 4-3 (9-11, 4-11, 7-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-7, 14-12) comeback that will remain as one of the most dramatic matches of the year.
Batra will next face World No. 11 Hirano Miu in her quest for a quarter final berth.
In the men”s singles, World No. 30 Gnanasekaran Sathiyan was brilliant in his 4-0 (11-6, 11-6, 11-9, 11-2) win over World No. 61 Noshad Alamiyan of Iran. In his Round of 16 match, the Indian has a formidable opponent in World No. 5 Harimoto Tomokazu of Japan.
Sathiyan will also be in contention for a semi-final berth in the men”s doubles in partnership with Achanta Sharath Kamal. The pair faces Hungary”s World No. 132 Adam Szudi and World No. 142 Nandor Ecseki in the quarter finals later on Friday.
Batra and Sharath Kamal, meanwhile, have got a walkover into the mixed doubles semi-finals and they will now take on the German combine of Patrick Franziska and Petrissa Solja.
With their sights set on the Tokyo Olympics qualification, India”s top paddlers have participated in this ITTF World Tour event in search of valuable ranking points and high-level match play.
