India’s campaign at the Table Tennis World Championships in Doha began with some strong performances and early heartbreaks on Sunday, as top paddlers Manika Batra and Manav Thakkar advanced to the next round, while several others bowed out in tightly contested matches.
Manika Batra, seeded 22nd, got off to a flawless start in the women’s singles, cruising past Nigeria’s Fatima Bello in straight games 4-0 (11-5, 11-6, 11-8, 11-2) in just 23 minutes. The Indian star showed her class and composure throughout the encounter, setting the tone early with aggressive returns and consistent placement. She now awaits the winner of the clash between Singapore’s Tan Zhao Yun and Korea’s Park Gahyeon in the round of 64.
In the men’s singles, Manav Thakkar also opened his campaign with a convincing 4-1 (11-3, 11-8, 6-11, 11-7, 14-12) victory over New Zealand’s Timothy Choi. Despite a brief hiccup in the third game, Thakkar regained control and held off a late surge in the final game to secure passage to the next round.
However, it was a tough outing for Ankur Bhattacharjee, who fell 1-4 (11-4, 7-11, 9-11, 10-12, 8-11) to Hong Kong’s Lam Siu Hang, despite a promising start.
In doubles, the mixed fortunes continued. The in-form ninth-seeded pair of Manush Shah and Diya Chitale displayed dominant chemistry, dispatching the Algerian duo of Mehdi Bouloussa and Malissa Nasri 3-0 (11-2, 11-7, 11-6) in just 16 minutes. Fresh off their WTT Contender title win in Tunis, Manush and Diya now await a tougher test against either Korea’s Oh Junsung/Kim Nayeong or New Zealand’s Dean Shu/Jocelyn Lam.
In contrast, heartbreak struck for the 14th-seeded duo of Harmeet Desai and Yashaswini Ghorpade. Facing an unseeded French pair, Thibault Poret and Leana Hochart, the Indians squandered a two-game lead and three match points, eventually losing 2-3 (11-8, 11-6, 10-12, 8-11, 10-12).
Harmeet’s woes continued in men’s doubles, as he and G. Sathiyan were edged out 1-3 (11-9, 10-12, 16-14, 12-10) by Austria-Moldova’s Kolodziejczyk and Ursu. Sathiyan later suffered a straight-sets defeat in singles, losing 0-4 (5-11, 6-11, 7-11, 6-11) to France’s Thibault Poret.
Yashaswini’s singles campaign also ended on the opening day, as she fell 1-4 (7-11, 11-8, 9-11, 9-11, 8-11) to France’s Jia Nan Yuan, rounding off a challenging day for Indian hopes in the women’s draw.
Despite the mixed results, early wins for Manika and Manav provide a bright spot for the Indian contingent as the tournament progresses into its crucial stages.
